In college my teacher said a slow cooker was just as good that's where I got the idea. However I wanted to do things properly so to speak so we had an all singing all dancing stone machine when opening it was awful, broke after about 18 months and the stones were always scalding hot don't think the temp gauge was too reliable tbh. I asked insurance and they said as long as staff are trained in handling the stones as per their training and the stones don't go above a certain temp it's fine. On another subject I don't use a towel steamer as I don't like them but was at a beauty show a few years ago and they were selling them my hubby asked what the difference was between that and a food steamer. They couldn't tell me and proceeded to look flustered and and stuttered something about the water never runs out? Just makes me lose faith in these "professional" pieces of equipment. Maybe the hot stones machine I got was a just a fluke and all others are ok not sure but it put me off especially spending nearly £300 on it and when I questioned it with manufacturers they weren't bothered. My slow cooker has a temp control so doesn't heat the stones too hot and have found it much easier to use and more reliable it's not even a case of penny pinching as my slow cooker was dear as it has the inbuilt temp.