Description
Farberware 0.7 Cu. Ft. 700-Watt Countertop Microwave: what it is
This is Farberware’s compact countertop microwave: 0.7 cubic feet of interior space and 700 watts of output. The listing publishes ten power levels, six one touch cooking programs, a large digital screen with a clock and countdown timer, a memory function for saving custom settings, a large door with an easy grip handle and a child safety lock. External dimensions are 12.99 by 17.3 by 10.14 inches and the weight is 22.5 pounds. It was first listed in July 2019 and carries 11,858 customer ratings averaging 4.3 stars, which is one of the largest feedback bases in this catalog.
Small microwaves sell in enormous numbers because the situations that need one are extremely common: a dorm room, a studio apartment, an office, a break room, a caravan, a garage, a granny flat, a second kitchen. This is that product, and the very large rating base reflects it.
What 700 watts actually means in daily use
This is the most important thing on the page and it is the point most compact microwave buyers only discover after purchase.
Seven hundred watts is the output power delivered into the food. The heating instructions printed on frozen meals, ready meals and packaged food are written for a specific wattage, and that is usually somewhere between 1,000 and 1,200 watts. A 700 watt oven will therefore take noticeably longer than the box says. As a rough guide, plan on roughly half again as long as the stated time and check partway through.
That is not a defect. It is the trade for a small cavity and a small cabinet, and it is the same trade every compact microwave makes. But it changes the daily experience, and it is worth knowing before ordering rather than after. Anyone who reheats a lot of packaged food and wants package timings to work should be looking at a 1,000 watt machine such as the Farberware 1.1 cubic foot model instead.
What 0.7 cubic feet holds
Zero point seven cubic feet takes a normal dinner plate, a mug, a bowl, a single serving container or a small bag of popcorn, though a dedicated machine from the popcorn poppers category handles that last job with less packaging. It will not take a large casserole dish, a rectangular baking dish or a family sized plate with a raised rim. The turntable diameter is what sets the real limit rather than the volume, and a wide flat plate can catch on the cavity wall as it rotates.
Measure the largest plate the household actually uses before deciding. That single check prevents most of the disappointment with compact microwaves.
The features that matter at this size
Ten power levels is generous for a compact machine and genuinely useful, because low power cycling is what makes defrosting and gentle reheating work rather than cooking the outside of the food.
The memory function saves a custom time and power combination to a button, which suits an office or a household with a fixed routine. The six one touch programs cover the common items. The child safety lock disables the panel, which matters in a small space where the microwave sits low.
At 22.5 pounds it is light enough for one person to carry, which is not true of most full size microwaves and matters for a student moving between rentals.
Highlights
- 0.7 cubic foot cavity in a body only 17.3 inches wide, sized for dorms, offices and small kitchens.
- Ten power levels, which is generous for a compact microwave.
- Six one touch cooking programs plus a memory function for saved settings.
- Digital display with a clock and a countdown timer.
- Child safety lock and a large easy grip door handle.
- 22.5 pounds, light enough to move alone.
- 11,858 customer ratings averaging 4.3 stars, an unusually large feedback base.
Things To Consider
The 700 watt output is the defining limitation, as described above. Everything takes longer, and package instructions need adjusting upward.
The listing records the item model number as “Farberware”, which is the brand rather than a model number. That makes it harder to match this exact unit against a manual, a spare turntable or a warranty claim, and it is a straightforward record fault.
Microwaves need clearance around their vents. The 12.99 by 17.3 inch footprint is the minimum counter space, not the required space, and installing one flush into an alcove restricts the airflow it depends on.
There is no convection, no grill and no inverter technology named on this listing. It reheats and defrosts. It does not brown, crisp or bake, and a small oven such as the Breville BOV650XL Compact Smart Oven is the appliance for that.
The 4.3 star average is solid rather than excellent, but with nearly twelve thousand ratings behind it the figure is statistically meaningful in a way that a higher average on a small sample is not. On compact microwaves the recurring complaints across the category tend to concern door latches and turntable motors rather than heating.
Who should buy it, and who should not
This suits a dorm room, an office, a break room, a caravan, a small apartment, a garage workshop or any space where the microwave has to be small first and powerful second. The very large rating base, the ten power levels and the light weight make it an easy recommendation within those limits.
Skip it if the household reheats packaged food regularly and wants package timings to work, where 1,000 watts is the right specification and a machine such as the Panasonic HomeChef NN-CD87KS is the better fit. Skip it if a large dish has to fit, which needs a bigger cavity. And skip it if browning, crisping or baking is part of the requirement, in which case a countertop oven or a combination unit from the countertop microwave ovens category such as the GE GCST10A1WSS 4-in-1 is the better answer.
