Rice cookers that don't cook
 

I've had rice cookers for more than 30 years. They get used three times a week. Over the years they went from lasting five years to less than a year.

THE PROBLEM:
The bottom of the removable pot must conform to the surface of the heating element or the shut-off mechanism trips too early or too late. The result is undercooked or burnt rice.

The shorter lifespan of the newer cookers is due to thinner material used for the pot. The included rice scoop will deform the bottom in the first use. Our last cooker was ruined in one week, the third in a year. The pot in our current cooker is only slightly thicker than a beer can. (They know how to sell rice cookers.)

THE SOLUTION:
Don't use the scoop. Don't drop the pot. Don't exert pressure on the bottom when cleaning.

After the shut-off trips, remove the pot from the cooker and set it on a heat resistant surface for ten minutes with the lid on. Remove the lid, turn the pot upside down into a refrigerator container and gently tap on the rim with your hand. The rice will fall out in one lump leaving the pot fairly clean. Clean it immediately so the starch doesn't have time to harden.

Some people cook rice on the stove without problems. I would rather watch paint dry.

For the money you've thrown at a succession of doomed small appliances, you could turn on your stove and leave it on for a month. Two months. That would cook a lot of rice.

1x volume rice in the pot, 2x volume water in the pot. Bring to a boil. Stir once, cover, turn the heat down to simmer. Go do something else for 20 minutes. When the timer dings, your carbs are ready.

Works every time.

Or you could go with an Instapot. I have no quality complaints about ours.

We have a cheap no name refurbished rice cooker we bought at frys 10 years ago and not as good of quality as the new ones but it keeps on cooking. I just scoop out the rice and all is good.
The hard part is getting good rice. Most all of what you find is the cheap long grain rice. Sams started carrying the good short grain rice but the best place to buy rice is at the asian markets. Way cheaper and they have the good quality calrose and other short grain rices.