Crockpot won't heat anymore, is it usually the heating band?

[Thomas Martinez]

Saw a few individuals asking about Crockpot issues with the pots stopping heating. Usually the heating band is the issue. Thought I’d bring this up for discussion as this seems to be the topic of most discussions regarding kitchen appliances instead of the much more common coffee makers and kettles.
According to the posts, you can access the heating band from under the bottom cover of the crockpot. Some special rivets secure the bottom cover to the crockpot that you must drill out to allow access to the heating band. Once you locate the heating band, it appears that if it’s the problem, you have to replace the entire heating band assembly as one piece. This is because the band and the crockpot is essentially one piece; the heating band is the heating element itself that is bonded to the crockpot.
However, one thing that seems to be of interest to most individuals is whether or not these heating bands are available as an individual component that can be purchased for these crockpots. Furthermore, can you acquire these bands in general from the hardware stores? Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just buy a new crockpot rather than sourcing these bands?

 

[Pixellated Han]

9 times out of 10 yeah its the band. But before you start drilling rivets out check the thermal fuse and the switch first, ive seen plenty come back from the dead just from a busted switch.

 

[Enviou]

honestly for what a new crockpot costs at walmart i wouldnt even bother. Like $25 for a basic one. Spend two hours drilling rivets to save $5? nah

 

[Shado]

Do the bands actually fail open or do they go to ground? curious what the typical failure mode is on these. I’d think that the element wire would break, but maybe the insulation on the element fails?

 

[The Castle of B]

sourced one once for an older Rival. Had to buy a donor unit off ebay because nobody stocks the bands as a separate part. Ended up being more work than it was worth tbh