I bought this 18 months ago and would love to give it five stars, as it has produced some delicious meals and been very reliable. However my issue is with the lid. It looks for all the world that it is designed to lift off as the spigots at each end that the lid pivots on have two flat sides. There are also slots each end where you would think that when the flat sides are aligned with these slots it would lift off, but No it doesn't. This made life difficult when emptying and after 6 months use one corner finally snapped off. It is still useable and is used frequently. Also the lid now comes off so emptying is easier but it would have been nice if what looks to be part of the original design actually work.