Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Defect Under Warranty

[Verdinut]

Last year, I bought one of those Instant Pot pressure cookers. I used it 3 times, and the fourth time I tried to cook rice in it, its timer wouldn't not go beyond 8 minutes, while the brown rice I had requires at least 20 minutes of cooking.

So I contacted the manufacturer, Instant Brands, which by the way operates in the US as well as in Canada. I explained the problem as the product was still under the one year warranty period. I was asked to do some testing that included taking photos of it while boiling water, and a also a video. Of course, I did find their request rather awkward and I told them that I didn't have the proper equipment to do that. I had no reply from them, so I trashed it in a recycling place. It's again Chinese built junk! I also gave away the recipe books that I had to a donation organization. I don't recommend anyone to purchase their products.

 

[mtrycrafts]

We have one. Wife has not complained, yet.

 

[TLS Guy]

We have one. Wife has not complained, yet.

Well she might have a complaint. There have been 700 cases of serious personal injury recorded from those Instapots at least, and they are knee deep in law suits.

Pressure cookers of all types have been known for cases of serious personal injury since their inception. I remember and made note of that even as a child.

My son had one of those units, and I warned him. It did fail dangerously and fortunately no one was in the vicinity.

GET RID OF IT PRONTO!

 

[lovinthehd]

While I've considered their slow cooker and "air fryer"....have never really wanted a pressure cooker. My mom was always warning us about hers way back when, as to how dangerous they can be....

 

[Eppie]

Pressure cookers were simple devices back then as I'm sure you are aware. There was a vent pipe on the lid and the pressure control was simply a weight that sat on the pipe. You could remove the weight to relieve the pressure but had to be careful of the high temperature steam. The lid on ours was a bayonet fitting and would be too tight under pressure to remove, so you could only open it with the pressure relieved. Danger from scalding was the same as with any device that produced steam. A good standard pot is all metal; only the handles need to be plastic or bakelite. Way too much plastic on an Insta Pot for me to trust one of those things.

 

[highfigh]

I'm trying to think of a way something called 'Instant Pot' qualifies when rice takes the same length of time as using a saucepan. I have seen them used in cooking videos for long cooking times when tender meat was involved, but even that can be done in other ways.

People need to RTFM- DO NOT open it as soon as the dinger goes off!

 

[j_garcia]

They went bankrupt for one thing... We've had one for years without issue, but we only make certain types of food that work well in it.

I think the Instant Pot sort of grew out of rice cookers, which are basically pressure cookers. Good ones show other recipes that can be made in them, Instant Pot just grew it in size and added controls to expand the functionality.

I'm trying to think of a way something called 'Instant Pot' qualifies when rice takes the same length of time as using a saucepan. I have seen them used in cooking videos for long cooking times when tender meat was involved, but even that can be done in other ways.

Most non-base model rice cookers also feature a "fast" option that cooks the rice in half the time. I don't use it, because ~15 min is already quick enough to be done long before I am done cooking.

People need to RTFM- DO NOT open it as soon as the dinger goes off!

Agree. No different than the old school ones. The instructions are pretty clear too about the venting. If you don't read them, can't help you. Use an old seal? Don't close it properly? Yeah, plenty of options for people to use it wrong.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I'm trying to think of a way something called 'Instant Pot' qualifies when rice takes the same length of time as using a saucepan. I have seen them used in cooking videos for long cooking times when tender meat was involved, but even that can be done in other ways.

People need to RTFM- DO NOT open it as soon as the dinger goes off!

I agree on the RTFM part. I have one and have used it for years. Do not overfill it over the line, and don't run it without liquid. Some foods are perfect for it. Some aren't. Pressure cookers aren't bombs, but could be if misused.

 

[Verdinut]

Steam pressure is powerful, we just have to think about steam locomotives.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Steam pressure is powerful, we just have to think about steam locomotives.

And they too can explode.

 

[mtrycrafts]

They went bankrupt for one thing... ...

I think all the lawsuits may be part of it but if I read the online stories, demand is less and now they are trying to refinance under that chapter of bankruptcy.