I can't tell if I received a defective specimen or whether they're all like this. It looks like several recent reviews have been quite negative, whereas the older reviews are more positive. Perhaps the recent model is different from older versions.It looks well built and the lid is especially nice (heavy). However, I have the following problem each time I've tried to cook something with it:It heats up quickly, but once the dialed in temperature is reached it shuts off power. Sometimes jiggling the handle helps but usually not. I bought this from a supermarket and threw all the packaging away so I may be out of luck.I definitely cannot recommend this.