My almost 8 yr. old 6 qt. programmable Crock Pot's keep warm element is cooking my food hotter than the low setting (it is okay for soup or chili, but for anything else my food is getting charred) and since I am on gone all day the warm setting usually turns on before I do.

I'd prefer something that isn't as big as a 6 qt. unit, but I need the timer (however I think that because I am not using the entire crock pot space it also causing my food cook hotter). Idealy I would love a crock pot that I could set to turn on at 10 am vs. 7 am and then only need 6 hrs. of cook time, but I don't think there is a model that will turn itself on.