I was loving my instant pot, bragging to all about it. Making my dogs food was so easy! I put in the food and the water, pressed pressure cook and like magic it was just done when it beeped. Getting used to the pressurization wasn't hard at all. It wasn't really difficult to use.

Until last week... My pot just didn't turn on! I tried other outlets and other electronics so it was not the outlet. I moved the pot to a different outlet, nothing. It was the pot. The manual gave explicit troubleshooting directions based on what is wrong. Not turning on meant that the circuit board blew and it advised to call support, which I did. When you call, an automated message tells you to go online and put in a ticket- because this is clearly a company that doesn't want to be bothered 'talking' to their customers. So I do this. A day later no response! So I email again asking for help. This time I email them the same information. Didn't hear from them until Friday! I needed my pot fixed on Tuesday.... On Thursday though I had had enough and called Amazon who thankfully knows how to treat customers and were able to refund me the product and I shipped it back to them. The pot was less than a year of purchase and within warranty after all! Even Amazon tried getting ahold of the company and they couldn't get a response!

Beware of this brand! I would look for another pressure cooker because when it breaks, and it likely will, you won't be getting help for days....

My first attempt to post this review Amazon blocked for an unknown reason. It should be posted though people should know what kind of company this is...

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I use this for everything! How did I live without this before???

I live in a Sprinter van full-time and was using an induction burner for cooking, but since I've gotten this little gem, I haven't used the induction burner once!

This is so easy to use, and it's the perfect size for one or two people. I've been making a lot of stews, and I'll saute the onions, carrots, and meat (if I'm using meat) then add everything else, seal it, and set it for 7 minutes on high pressure. I let it release naturally and have a perfectly cooked, tasty meal every time. This gives me enough for 4 or 5 servings.

I also quick soaked beans the other day by covering them with water, hitting pressure for 5 min. then letting it release naturally and let it sit (not on keep warm) for a couple of hours.

I'll often make dinner right after I reheat my lunch, and make sure the keep warm function is on. I'm able to drive with it in my sink and have a hot, healthy, delicious meal waiting for me when I'm done driving.

I've even baked banana bread in it!!! So exciting, because I don't have an oven. It turned out SO good! I used one of the containers and the lid from my To-Go Ware stainless steel lunch container to bake it in on the rack.

Because this cooks so quickly, it is very easy on my solar system. I can reheat leftovers on saute in 4 minutes, and it's only drawing 67a while it's on.

I did have a VitaClay, that I absolutely loved for making beans, and especially bone broth, but it takes much longer to cook and is heavier. So, more battery drain, more storage space, and more weight as compared to the Instant Pot Mini and the Mini wins on each count!

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Im not sure what happened here, because i know this is a good product. I attempted to cook food, my first run, and 15 minutes later The entire machine is in smokes. Quickly filled my kitchen and house with a horid smoke of burnt plastic. There were sparks coming off the bottom of the machine while it was turned on . I quickly unplugged the machine and turned it over to inspect the counter . I ask myself what would have happened if it had caught fire, or exploded in my face . The sound it was making seemed like it was going to. As you see the plastic melted, it was liquid all over my counter, and it was not easy to clean off the counter or my tainted hands. The bottom of the machine and remaining wires where bright, scolding red. I ruined kitchen towels, had to shower again before going to work. I was running late because of the ordeal i had to deal with. Forced to eat out with my wife because, just wasted the food being cooked wich was about to be amazing. . . . The worst thing is i am writing this and the machine goes in smokes for no reason. What do i do? This thing is just going in smokes unplugged. This is terriblleee.

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This pot is designed to not work. The surface area of the pressure indicating valve is too small for the weight of the valve to be lifted by steam pressure. Result? The valve stays open and the pot simply boils away the liquid inside and does not build pressure. The "solution" is to use an implement of some sort to manually pull the indicating valve up into a sealed position once the pot starts to make steam. If this is not done, the valve will not lift and seal and water will simply boil away. It is important to note that this is not due to a dirty valve, a sticky valve, insufficient liquid or any malfunction. Rather, it is designed into the pot. Ours will be relegated to stock pot duty as we have found it to be totally unusable as a pressure cooker.

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Dont buy this!!
It's caught fire! It was plugged in OFF mode and it just star melting from the bottom. All the house felt in a black smoke!
I googled and find that in 2018 Instant pot recall 100.000 instant pots because they was fire hazard!

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The Instant Pot Has Seriously Changed My Life. It has no doubt cut down my food expenses (cutting down take-out and product waste) but has also renewed my passion for cooking! I was tired of dry over cooked meat and hours of standing in the kitchen trying to simmer cook meals for flavour. I work long hours and can’t devote an entire day to meal prep, so being able to come home and make a one pot meal in 10 minutes with veggies, protein, and my starch all at once has been life changing! You can cook meat from frozen states in minutes with no need to even defrost! I can cook two juicy and tender chicken breasts fully in 5-6 minutes!

So Here Are My Favourite Features Of The Instant Pot DUO Series:

PROS:

FAST
The contents of the pressure cooker cooks at a higher temperature than what can be achieved by a conventional boil — more heat means more speed. Pressure cooking is about twice as fast as conventional cooking (sometimes, faster!) I have included a few of the cook times below for common meats below. Cooking both from fresh or frozen states. Please be advised a full set of cooking times and charts will be available to you in the included "recipe book" that comes with your instant pot. Below I provide my personal experiences so yours may differ slightly.

BEEF:
• Pot Roasts – 30 – 40 minutes
• Stew Meat – 15 – 20 minutes
• Ribs – 25 – 30 minutes
• Ground Beef, frozen – 10-25 minutes

CHICKEN
• Whole – 6 minutes per pound
• Boneless – 5-8 minutes
• Boneless, frozen – 8-12 minutes
• Bone-In – 10 – 15 minutes

PORK
• Ham, re-heat boneless fully cooked – 6 – 7 minutes
• Ham, shoulder – 8 minutes/1LB
• Roast, butt – 15 minutes/1LB
• Roast, loin – 20 minutes/1LB
• Ribs – 20 – 25 minutes
• Chops – 5 – 6 minutes

FISH
• Whole – 5 – 6 minutes
• Whole, frozen – 7 – 10 minutes
• Fillets – 2 – 3 minutes
• Fillet, frozen – 3 – 4 minutes

Please note that you can also make grains, fruits and vegetables (fresh or frozen), as well as yogurt and many desserts in this post aswell. Cook time will be available in your guide but I will add pictures attached to this review of the cooling charts for your knowledge. This review cannot possibly cover all the amazing things this pot can do for you.

EASE OF USE
I truly believe anyone can make a fantastic meal regardless of skill set! The instant pot Duo offers preset programs so it's as easy as putting your meat/starch/whatever in the pot, adding water, closing the lid and pressing a button to get it started. No calculations required! Please note, just because you do not have a certain pre-set button on your model does not mean you cannot use your pot to make it. For example, the Duo series does not has a "cake" button pre-set. All this means is that you will follow a recipe and instead of hitting "cake" you will hit "manual" and cook it at pressure for however long the recipe says. This pot truly can do everything!

HEALTHY
"Pressure cooking is one of the healthiest cooking methods. According to a study published in the Journal of Food Science, pressure cooking preserves 90-95% of vitamins. The extra speed and heat of pressure cooking practically flash-cooks vegetables, allowing them to retain more vitamins than boiling, (which only retains 40-75%), or even conventional steaming (75-90%!)" -Instant Pot

GREEN
"Pressure cookers require less energy/electricity to operate during the cooking process. Less heat and time translates to up to 70% energy savings in comparison to conventional cooking methods." - Instant Pot

SAFE
These are not your grandmother's pressure cookers! The days of worrying about your cooler exploding are gone! Modern pressure cookers have additional safety systems to ensure that if one should fail, another will kick-in. This pot is so safe that I truly believe there is nothing to be worried about. The only problem I do have with it though, is the steam release valve. If used improperly you could get burned by steam. I will be covering that next in the CONS section. Item list 1 star off review for the hazard of a steam burn.

So What Are The Cons:

1. The steam release valve- I am not a fan of this design for two reasons:

The first being that the valve must be reset from its "venting" positions to its "sealed" position each time before pressure cooking. When pressure cooking and time is finished the valve will automatically go from sealed to venting. However, it does not reset, so next time you go to pressure cook in this pot you will need to remember to reset the valve to "sealing" or you will open your pot and find out your food is underdone. Sadly this model does not alert you if you forget. If this is a big deal breaker for you like it was for me, I recommend you check out my review on the Instant Pot Ultra 60. It has an automatic venting/sealing feature so you no longer have to worry about this.

Second, the position of the valve. Please always use a long spoon or included rice paddle to push the steam valve to venting If you want a "quick release." Never use your fingers. The steam comes out of the valve at extremely high pressure and it is HOT HOT HOT. This appears to be a major design flaw in my opinion. As long as you stand back a little from the valve and do not use your hands then you should not get burnt. So always use a long spoon. Another tip is that your making good that could splatter out from the pressure and make a mess, throw a dish towel over the valve as it vents to prevent a clean up.

2. Cooking with Stainless Steel:

This is a learning curve. If you are unfamiliar with how to properly heat the pot before use (especially in saute mode) it is easy to burn food in the beginning. Luckily there are many online resources on how to do this and its pretty simple!

3. Accessories CAN be Expensive:

Although its easy to get around buying a bunch of extra stuff, you may find yourself going down the rabbit hole of wanting to try it all. If you are new to cooking this might mean needing some new things for the kitchen. Most everything can be made in this pot though with common glass dishes and the included trivet.

Other Great Things Not Mentioned:

-Colourful Manual that is easy to follow with lots of pictures!
-Many online support and chat groups for 24/7 support and advice!
-Fits neatly onto any amount of kitchen counter space.

And Many more!!! This is just a starter list!!

Overall I would highly recommend this product to anyone looking to cut down on there time in the kitchen, trying to save money or just make more flavourful and healthy meals! The Instant Pot Duo has all the same functionally of the upgraded models but without the extra price. It is however missing a few of the "bells and whistles" that do make your life even easier but are not a necessity to making amazing food 70% faster! If you are looking for the most fancy version of them all I recommend you check out my review of the "Ultra 60 Instant Pot" model, which is my everyday user and total favourite.

Was this helpful? Happy cooking!

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Apparently the inside basket’s non stick coating is super thin. I’ve used the lid for about 2 or 3 weeks and there are already two chips in the non stick coating. I’ve NEVER used metal utensils.... plastic tipped thongs and plastic spatula.

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We love this air fryer. Great addition to our instant pot and it does a great job with fries, wings, ribs, chicken nuggets and fish sticks.. However, I have to agree with other reviewers about the quality of the inside pot. It is disappointing and very possible quality. The non-stick coating started pealing off after only 2 uses and I’m not sure how long it will hold up. We use only silicone treated tongs and spatulas, and no harsh cleaning products. Hopefully Instant Pot will address this, maybe even conservative marketing a stainless steel replacement pot or better quality non-stick.