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RCA RMW733 Review

This appliance earned overall very lackluster results, putting it far from the top of our rankings when it comes to these products
RCA RMW733
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Price:   $75 List | $77.95 at Amazon
Pros:  Small form factor, fairly inexpensive
Cons:  Low power, didn’t heat very evenly in our tests
Manufacturer:   RCA
By David Wise and Austin Palmer  ⋅  Aug 19, 2020
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54
OVERALL
SCORE

RANKED
#10 of 10
  • Heating - 40% 4
  • Frozen Foods - 30% 7
  • Defrosting - 20% 6
  • Ease of use - 10% 5

Our Verdict

All in all, the RCA RMW733 overall earned some disappointing results in our mind. It didn't do a completely terrible job but was definitely mediocre at best in our minds. It's a compact, low power output option that comes with a relatively lower price tag but we generally would recommend going with a different option for most people.

Compare to Similar Products

(change comparison)
 
RCA RMW733
This Product
RCA RMW733
Awards  Editors' Choice Award Editors' Choice Award   
Price $75 List
$78 at Amazon		$112 List$170 List
$124.99 at Amazon		$100 List
$99.99 at Amazon		$100 List
Overall Score Sort Icon
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Pros Small form factor, fairly inexpensiveExcellent with packaged frozen foods, compact, very easy to useExcellent at defrosting, convenientGood at reheating, does well with premade frozen foodsGood at defrosting meat
Cons Low power, didn't heat very evenly in our testsSo-so with mixed leftoversLarge, expensiveDidn't defrost frozen turkey wellNot the most convenient to use, heating performance could be better
Bottom Line This appliance earned overall very lackluster results, putting it far from the top of our rankings when it comes to these productsFor those with limited kitchen space, this is the best compact model we testedAn excellent all-around product with a larger capacityThis larger product did decently well but we don't think it quite matches the performance of the top-tier modelsThis product pairs average results with an average price in our minds, failing to stand out from the competition
Rating Categories RCA RMW733 Kenmore 70929 Toshiba EM131A5C BLACK+DECKER... Panasonic NN-SB458S
Heating (40%)
4
6
6
7
6
Frozen Foods (30%)
7
8
7
7
7
Defrosting (20%)
6
8
9
4
7
Ease Of Use (10%)
5
7
8
7
5
Specs RCA RMW733 Kenmore 70929 Toshiba EM131A5C BLACK+DECKER... Panasonic NN-SB458S
Watts 700 900 1100 1000 900
Cubic Feet 0.7 0.9 1.2 1.1 0.9
Dimensions 17.8" x 12.7" x 10.3" 14.5" x 17.7" x 11" 20.5" x 17.1" x 12.8" 20.2" x 15.6" x 12.1" 19.1" x 11.5" x 14.8"
Turntable Diameter 10" 11.2" 12.4" 12.4" 10.6"
Internal Dimentions 8.25" ×12.4" ×12.9" 9.3" x 12.4" x 13.6" 13.1" x 15" x 9.5" 13.9" x 14.5" x 9.1" 12.4"x 13.9" x 8.1"
Warranty N/A 1 year limited 1 year limited 1 year limited 1 year parts and labor
5 year magnetron
Child lock Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Our Analysis and Test Results

The RCA RMW733 is 700 watt, 0.7 cubic foot appliance but just because it has a lower power output doesn't necessarily give it cause for its lower score. We've tested other similarly rated microwaves that delivered much more consistent results.

Performance Comparison


Overall, we weren't that impressed with the performance of this...
Overall, we weren't that impressed with the performance of this microwave.
Credit: Laura Casner

Likes


Our list of things we like for this microwave is on the smaller side, but we were impressed with how evenly this product heated up a Hot Pocket and a frozen burrito. The Hot Pocket only showed an average temperature difference of 2°F between the left, right, and center areas. There was a bit more of an average difference between the three measurement points with the frozen burrito, raising to 13°F.

This microwave also did a decent job, like many of the other products, at heating up the canned soup. The RCA RMW733 finished out its list of favorable performances with a slightly above average performance in our ground turkey defrosting test.

We did appreciate that the RMW733 defrosted more than half of the...
We did appreciate that the RMW733 defrosted more than half of the ground turkey.
Credit: Laura Casner

It defrosted a little less than 11 ounces of the one-pound block of ground turkey. However, the remaining 5 ounces were still quite frozen and hard to break up.

Dislikes


The RCA RMW733 delivered poor performances in most of the tests in our heating metric, heating slower and more unevenly than many of its competitors based on its performance in our heat map and speed tests. It also didn't do very well with the plate of leftovers and the pizza reheating test. The heat map with marshmallow fluff showed the middle ring getting much more cooked than the center ring.

The center hot spot is very evident.
The rings heated very unevenly in our heat map test.

For our speed test, we heated up a small beaker of water and measured the temperature increase. This microwave only managed to increase the temperature of the water by 66.4°F — much less than the 100+°F of the top models. The plate of sausage, green beans, and potatoes also didn't heat up very evenly using the reheat function. None of the three types of food were warm enough to eat without additional time in the microwave, though they wear all within 20°F of each other.

This product earned one of the lower overall scores of the bunch.
This product earned one of the lower overall scores of the bunch.
Credit: Laura Casner

The two slices of pizza also weren't very consistently heated. One actually came out alright but the other had a giant cool spot in the middle. The RCA RMW733 continued its trend of lackluster results in our lasagna test, with the average temperature difference between regions being 17°F and the largest being 39°F.

The RCA created some clear thermal gradients in the frozen lasagna.
The RCA created some clear thermal gradients in the frozen lasagna.
Credit: Laura Casner

Finally, we also were very disappointed that this microwave doesn't have a +30 seconds button and easily slides around on a counter with normal use.

The lack of a "+30 Seconds" button is a bit of a dealbreaker in our...
The lack of a "+30 Seconds" button is a bit of a dealbreaker in our minds.
Credit: Laura Casner

Value


While the RCA RMW733 is a fairly inexpensive option, we think it's relatively low performance precludes it from being a great bargain option in our mind.

Conclusion


Overall, we think the RCA RMW733 delivered poor enough results that we struggled to recommend it and we would usually recommend other models for just about everyone.

— David Wise and Austin Palmer