Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I grew up with my mother using a pressure cooker. I saw an infomercial for an electric pressure cooker which peaked my interest. I was looking for a way to cook meals faster. I decided to check the reviews on amazon and they stunk for that particular brand and I did not like the fact that it had a non-stick liner. I began searching for different brands and after reading hundreds of reviews decided on this one. (Before purchasing, make a point to read ALL the negative ones.) Since this had so many features and a stainless liner, I thought it would be a good way to eliminate my crock pot and steamer and have a pressure cooker to boot. It arrived in great shape. I ran it through the water cycle per manual. I then attempted to cook chicken breasts with the pressure cooker. After the allotted time, they were under done. I added extra time several different times and it took forever to get them done. Dinner was very late that night. Next, I tried rice. Same situation - underdone. Same scenario of adding time and the rice turned out mushy. Yesterday, I tried the slow cooker setting for corned beef and cabbage. I set it on high for 6 hours. The corned beef was done but the cabbage on top of the corned beef was only partially done and the top layer of cabbage was not done at all. I had to put most of the cabbage back in for two additional hours before it was finally done. In my crock pot, after 6 hours on high it would have been more than done. I have tried three different methods of cooking with this and all three were underdone and required a lot of extra cooking time so it would seem that this just does not get hot enough. Everything I tried would have been much faster with other methods defeating the purpose of this purchase. Also, the silicone ring inside the top does retain odors even after washing thoroughly and hours of air drying. The only positive thing I found was that the stainless liner is a lot lighter to handle than the ceramic liner of my crock pot. Also the exterior of the Instant Pot does not get hot like my crock pot which can burn you if you touch it. I don't know whether that is the way it is supposed to be or whether that has something to do with the fact that mine does not seem to get hot enough to cook things. I went back and started reading only the negative reviews and saw many situations similar to mine. I was ready to pack it up and send it back until I realized I was a couple of weeks past the 30 day return period. Expensive mistake!