Russell Hobbs Chalkboard 24180 Slow Cooker Review: Cheap, Small and Basic
Russell Hobbs’ own 3.5-litre slow cooker is a matt-black pot you can write on with chalk, and the £30-ish price is the main reason to buy it. Two editorial testers and a few dozen buyers broadly like it. Here is what it actually holds, what a day’s cook costs, and the one point where the sources disagree about whether the pot can go on a hob.
Where the reviews line up
Our evidence comes from three places: a hands-on test by Trusted Reviews, a longer home test by Real Homes, and the buyer ratings at John Lewis (with Coolblue’s buyers in the Netherlands as a cross-check). They agree on what the 24180 is: a basic, cheap, compact slow cooker that does the job.
Three things come up again and again. It cooks well enough for the money. Real Homes found beef joints and chicken wings came out “extremely succulent”, and Trusted Reviews liked the flavour of its Bolognese. It is small, which is good if your kitchen is short on space and bad if you batch-cook for more than four. And it is very basic: you get low, high and keep-warm, and nothing else. There is no timer and no auto-off, so you have to switch it off yourself.
The criticism comes from Trusted Reviews. Its tester found the lid has no seal and leaked on high, glue left behind on the chalkboard panel, a pot that was hard work to clean by hand, and a Bolognese still runny after six hours on low. Real Homes and the buyers say none of this, so it may come down to one unit, or to one tester’s expectations.
What decides it is size, not quality. At 3.5 litres total and a three-quarters fill limit, you really have about 2.6 litres to cook with (our sum). That is a meal for two to four. If you cook for a bigger household or want leftovers to freeze, buy a bigger pot.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- Trusted ReviewsEditorial test: soup, Bolognese and baked apples. The most critical of the three.
- Real HomesEditorial test in a writer’s own home: beans, beef and chicken. Warmest verdict.
- John Lewis & Coolblue4.8/5 from 46 John Lewis reviews and 8.9/10 from 15 at Coolblue, both checked 11 Oct 2026.
Before the review: can the pot go on the hob?
The sources disagree. Coolblue, a Dutch retailer selling the European version (24180-56), says the inner pan has a stainless-steel base with a ceramic non-stick coating and can go on a gas or electric hob, though not induction, to brown meat. Russell Hobbs’ UK product page says nothing either way. The UK instruction manual tells you to brown meat “in a pan on a hob” and then move it to the slow cooker, and both UK testers describe the pot as ceramic. Until Russell Hobbs UK says the pot is hob-safe, treat it as not hob-safe and brown your meat in a frying pan.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | Figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Russell Hobbs Chalkboard Slow Cooker 24180 (black, chalk-writable housing, chalk included) | Russell Hobbs UK, in stock 11 Oct 2026 |
| Total capacity | 3.5 litres, “up to four people” | Russell Hobbs UK |
| Usable capacity | About 2.6 litres. The manual says fill to “about three-quarters full” | Our sum from Russell Hobbs’ fill limit |
| Power | 200 W | Russell Hobbs UK and John Lewis. Trusted Reviews prints 1000 W, which we think is an error |
| Cost of an 8-hour low cook | No more than about 42p (0.2 kW × 8 h = 1.6 kWh × 26.32p) | Our sum at the Oct 2026 Ofgem cap. 200 W is the maximum, and low draws less |
| Settings | Low (typically 8–10 h), High (4–5 h), Warm (no more than 4 h), Off. No timer, no auto-off | Russell Hobbs manual; both testers confirm no timer |
| Pot | Removable pot with glass lid. Ceramic according to Trusted Reviews and Real Homes; ceramic-coated with a stainless-steel base according to Coolblue (EU model) | Russell Hobbs UK does not say |
| Dishwasher | Pot and lid dishwasher-safe. The manual warns this “may affect the surface finishes” | Russell Hobbs UK and manual |
| Hob-safe pot | Not stated in the UK. Coolblue says yes, but not on induction | Disputed, see the box above |
| Height | 265 mm (Russell Hobbs UK) or 229 mm (John Lewis, which gives 22.9 cm for all three dimensions) | Sources disagree |
| Weight | 3.18 kg (John Lewis) or about 3.9 kg (Real Homes) | Sources disagree; Russell Hobbs does not say |
| Cable | 68 cm | John Lewis |
| Guarantee | 2 years, plus 1 more if you register online within 28 days of buying | Russell Hobbs manual |
| Price | £31.49 at Russell Hobbs UK (in stock) and John Lewis (out of stock online); £27 listed at Harvey Norman UK (not available for delivery) | All checked 11 Oct 2026 |
Trusted Reviews
Who they are: Trusted Reviews is a UK tech and home review site whose editors use each product themselves and add standard tests in equipped facilities. This page names no tester, so we weight it as the outlet’s test rather than any one person’s.
Trusted Reviews cooked three things. A vegetable soup was done after four hours on high, inside the manual’s range. A Bolognese ran six hours on low and was “still fairly liquid”, although the tester liked the flavour: “the slow-cooking having accentuated the different flavours.” Baked apples overcooked after six hours on low. The keep-warm setting held the soup hot without boiling it.
The complaints are what make this test worth reading. There is no seal around the lid, and it leaked on high. Adhesive was left on the chalkboard panel. Cleaning the black ceramic pot by hand was “more laborious” than the tester wanted. Its summary was that the cooker “functions sufficiently as a basic buy for a small family or couple”, along with a joke about writing “could do better” on it in chalk. The page lists the power as 1000 W. Russell Hobbs and John Lewis both say 200 W, and 1000 W would be unusual for a 3.5-litre slow cooker, so we have used 200 W.
Watch: Russell Hobbs 24180 Chalkboard Slow Cooker, 3.5 L, Black
A clip titled with the exact model number. We could not open it, so we cannot tell you who made it or whether it is a review or a product film.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Independent YouTube video — not made by or for Shopbam.Real Homes
Who they are: Lola Houlton is a contributing writer at Future’s home titles. Her Homes & Gardens author page says she spent more than six years writing for Future on lifestyle, interiors and practical home topics, after a psychology degree and time at the BBC. She is a home writer, not a kitchen-appliance specialist, so read this as a careful owner’s view. Real Homes says its reviewers test in their own homes for at least two weeks.
This is the warmest of the three, and it comes from someone who used the cooker as part of everyday cooking. A whole 500 g bag of soaked dried beans went in with vegetables, tomatoes and spices, cooked for three to four hours on high and was reheated the next day. Houlton says it tasted better the second time. Beef joints and chicken wings came out “extremely succulent” and needed no extra water. The pot and lid went in the dishwasher, and the base only needed a wipe.
Her complaints are the same as everyone’s: only three settings, and no timer or auto-off, so “you will have to do that bit yourself.” Her verdict: “Brilliantly basic at an amazing price.” This review is six years old. The model has not changed, but the price she praised has. Note too that her method of cooking dried beans on high skips the step the Russell Hobbs manual insists on: boil dried beans such as red kidney beans for at least ten minutes before they go in.
Watch: Russell Hobbs Slowcooker 3,5 liter - Review Test
A Dutch-titled review of a 3.5-litre Russell Hobbs slow cooker. The title does not name the model, so it may show a sibling of the 24180, not this exact one.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Independent YouTube video — not made by or for Shopbam.John Lewis and Coolblue
Who they are: John Lewis ratings come from its own customers and are moderated by a third party, PowerReviews, before they are published. Coolblue only invites reviews from people who bought the product from it. Both are satisfaction scores from buyers, not tests.
A John Lewis rating of 4.8 from 46 reviews is high. But the page we read showed only the score, not the reviews themselves, so we cannot tell you what those buyers liked or disliked. The listing confirms the 200 W rating, the dishwasher-safe pot and lid, the 68 cm cable and a two-year guarantee. It was out of stock online when we checked.
Coolblue in the Netherlands sold the European version and only takes reviews from people who bought it there. Its 15 reviews are mainly positive: well built, light, easy to use, quiet and cheap. Several call it right for a household of two or three, with some left over for the next day or the freezer. One of the 15 was a one-star review. That “two or three people” comment fits our 2.6-litre usable-capacity sum better than the “up to four” on the box.
Watch: Russell Hobbs Chalkboard Slow Cooker #shorts
A short clip of the Chalkboard slow cooker. Short-form, so expect a quick look at the chalk finish rather than a cooking test.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Independent YouTube video — not made by or for Shopbam.Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- Cheap to buy and cheap to run: an 8-hour cook costs no more than about 42p at the October 2026 cap (our sum).
- Both testers say the food is good, and Real Homes rates the meat highly.
- The pot and glass lid go in the dishwasher.
- Small enough to fit in a cupboard, at around 23–27 cm high depending on whose figure you trust.
- The guarantee runs to three years if you register online within 28 days.
- The chalkboard sides really do take chalk, and buyers like being able to label the meal.
What people complain about
- No timer and no auto-off, so you have to come back and switch it off.
- Only about 2.6 litres is usable, which is not enough for batch cooking for a family.
- Trusted Reviews found the lid has no seal and leaked on high.
- The pot is hard to clean by hand, and dishwashing may dull its finish, says Russell Hobbs.
- One tester found glue left on the chalkboard panel.
- No source agrees on whether the pot can go on a hob, so you will need a separate pan to brown meat.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if you cook for one to three people, want stews, curries and pulled meat ready when you get home, and do not want to spend much. It is also a sensible first slow cooker to find out whether you will use one. If you would rather one appliance did several jobs, our Instant Pot Duo 5.7L review covers a multicooker that slow-cooks as well as pressure-cooks.
Look elsewhere if you feed a family of four or more, want a timer that switches to warm on its own, or want to sear and slow-cook in one pot. For hob-to-oven slow cooking, a cast-iron casserole like the one in our Le Creuset Signature 24cm review does it in the oven, for a lot more money. For quick weeknight cooking, see our Salter Dual Air Pro air fryer review.
What we could not check
- Whether the pot is hob-safe in the UK. Coolblue says the EU pan can go on a gas or electric hob, but not induction. Russell Hobbs UK does not say, and its manual tells you to brown food in a separate pan. We could not find a UK statement either way.
- What the pot is made of. Russell Hobbs UK does not say. Both testers say ceramic; Coolblue says a ceramic coating on a stainless-steel base. These may be different versions of the pot.
- Real power draw on low. Nobody measured it. Our 42p is a ceiling based on the 200 W rating, and a low cook probably costs less.
- Height and weight. Russell Hobbs says 265 mm high; John Lewis says 229 mm. John Lewis says 3.18 kg; Real Homes says about 3.9 kg. We have printed both.
- Argos price and ratings. Argos lists the 24180, but the page builds its price, ratings and seller in the browser, so we could not read them. Argos is now partly a marketplace, so we could not tell whether Argos itself or another seller was selling it.
- Who wrote the Trusted Reviews test and when. The page names neither.
- The John Lewis review text. Only the score and count (4.8 from 46) showed on the page we read.
- The videos. All three were confirmed from YouTube search listings (each appeared in at least two different searches), not by opening them. None of the listings named a channel, and the Dutch review may show a different 3.5-litre model.
- Amazon. A Latest Deals listing shows £25.65 at Amazon and 4.6/5 from 2,808 ratings, but gives no date, and Amazon blocks us. We have not relied on it.
Sources last checked 11 October 2026. Prices and stock change quickly, so check the listing in front of you before you order.