Description
Farberware Classic 1.1 Cu. Ft. 1000-Watt Microwave: what it is
This is Farberware’s mid size countertop microwave, identified in the manufacturer description as the FM11BKBSS. The listing publishes a 1.1 cubic foot capacity, 1,000 watts of output, ten power levels, six one touch cooking programs, express cooking buttons that run one to six minutes at full power, a plus 30 seconds button, a memory function for saving custom settings, a large digital display with a clock and countdown timer, a child safety lock, an easy grip door handle and a stainless steel exterior. External dimensions are 16.54 by 20.2 by 12.03 inches and the weight is 34.1 pounds. It was first listed in November 2022 and carries 48 customer ratings averaging 4.4 stars.
Wattage and capacity, and why both numbers matter together
Microwave shopping goes wrong when people look at one of these figures without the other, so it is worth being precise.
The 1,000 watt figure is output power, not consumption. It is the energy actually delivered into the food, and it is the number that determines how long everything takes. This matters more than most buyers realize, because the heating instructions printed on frozen food packaging are written for a specific wattage, usually somewhere between 1,000 and 1,200 watts. A 1,000 watt oven follows package timings closely. A 700 watt oven such as the smaller Farberware 0.7 cubic foot model needs meaningfully longer than the box says, and getting that wrong is why food comes out hot at the edges and cold in the middle.
The 1.1 cubic foot capacity is the interior volume, and it is the practical middle of the market. It takes a standard dinner plate comfortably, a medium casserole dish, and a family sized bag of popcorn. It will not take a large rectangular baking dish, which needs a 1.6 to 2.0 cubic foot oven.
Ten power levels and what they are actually for
Most people use a microwave at full power and nothing else. Power levels matter for the jobs where full power ruins the food: softening butter, melting chocolate, defrosting, warming a sauce without splitting it, reheating rice without drying the edges.
A microwave at 50 percent power does not emit at half strength. It cycles the magnetron on and off, which gives the heat time to distribute through the food between bursts. That is exactly what delicate reheating needs, and it is the reason a ten level machine is more useful than a three level one.
The convenience features
The plus 30 seconds button is the control that gets used most in daily life, because reheating is always slightly wrong the first time and nobody wants to re enter a time. The express cooking buttons run one to six minutes at full power with a single press, which covers most of what a microwave does.
The memory function is more unusual and genuinely useful in a household with a repeated routine: a specific time and power level for the same mug of milk or bowl of oats every morning, saved to one button.
The child safety lock disables the control panel, which matters in a house with small children and a low counter.
Highlights
- 1,000 watts of output, enough to follow package heating instructions without adding time.
- 1.1 cubic foot interior, which takes a standard dinner plate and a medium casserole.
- Ten power levels for defrosting, melting and gentle reheating.
- Six one touch programs plus express cooking buttons for one to six minutes.
- Plus 30 seconds button for adjusting mid cycle.
- Memory function for saving a custom time and power combination.
- Child safety lock and a large easy grip door handle.
- Stainless steel exterior.
Things To Consider
The rating base is thin. Forty eight ratings averaging 4.4 stars is enough to suggest nothing is systemically wrong and not enough to establish reliability. By comparison, the smaller Farberware model in this catalog carries nearly twelve thousand ratings. Anyone who values feedback volume should note the difference.
Two listing fields are faulty. The voltage is recorded as “1.2E+2 Volts”, which is 120 volts in scientific notation rather than a real specification. The item model number field contains only the brand name, Farberware, rather than a model number. The actual model, FM11BKBSS, appears only inside the description text.
Microwaves need ventilation clearance around the vents, which are usually at the sides or back. The 16.54 by 20.2 inch footprint is therefore the minimum counter space rather than the required space, and shoving one into an alcove is a common cause of premature failure.
At 34.1 pounds this is heavier than it looks and awkward to lift alone. If it is going onto a shelf rather than a counter, check the shelf rating.
There is no convection, no grill element and no inverter technology named. This is a straightforward microwave, and browning or crisping is not something it does. Anyone wanting more should look at a combination unit such as the Panasonic HomeChef 4-in-1.
Who should buy it, and who should not
This suits a household, an office break room, a small business kitchen or a rental property that needs a properly powered microwave without paying for convection features that will not be used. The 1,000 watt output is the right specification for anyone who mainly reheats packaged food, and the memory and express buttons make daily use quick.
Skip it if counter space is very tight, where a 0.7 cubic foot machine takes considerably less room. Skip it if the requirement is browning or baking as well as reheating, which needs a combination oven or a separate countertop oven such as the Breville BOV650XL. And skip it if a large rectangular dish has to fit, which needs a bigger cavity. Alternatives sit in the countertop microwave ovens category, and space saving options in the over the range format.
