Hotpoint RGB745 Review

My wife and I were looking for a standalone stove that would fit in the space that our old drop-in stove occupied and it turned out that the Hotpoint RGB745 was a perfect fit. We got our RGB745 in traditional appliance white.

What Is It?

The Hotpoint RGB745 is a traditional-looking four-burner natural gas stove with pushbutton controls and a digital readout on the back panel. It measures exactly 30 inches wide, which was a whisker less than some of the other stoves that we checked. The backsplash is 11 inches tall, which is a bit taller than I would like.

The cooktop has four burners: two for medium heat, one for high heat and one for low heat. Arching over the burners are heavy-duty pot supports coated with a gray enamel. Gray drip pans surrounding the burners are easily removed for washing in the sink, a nice touch that I appreciate. Although the oven and timer controls are on the electronic panel in the backsplash, the burner controls are traditional knobs at the front of the stove.

The oven measures 24 inches x 17 inches x 19 inches (WxHxD), which seems roomy to me. There are two chromed wire shelves that can be easily removed and the inside of the oven is coated with a speckled gray enamel, the kind of finish that ovens have had for decades. There is a light in the back of the oven and a window on the door so that you can observe your turkey cooking. A drawer under the oven is 22 inches wide but rather shallow at 5.5 inches. It is not for broiling but can be used only for storing flat items such as cookie sheets.

We paid about $500 for our Hotpoint RGB745, including $89 to haul away the old stove and install the new one.

This Thing Really Cooks

The Hotpoint RGB745 has worked quietly and competently for us since August 2004. We frequently use a dual-burner griddle for pancakes and the two left burners work perfectly for this. They are the two medium-heat burners, so we simply set them for identical flames and the heat is very even... no more undercooked pancakes in some spots and overcooked in others! The right-front burner is for high-heat, which is perfect for that pot of spaghetti. The back right is reserved for slower cooking chores, such as frying bacon.

On the downside, the pot supports for the burners discolored almost instantly and no amount of scrubbing has removed the stains. The pot supports are a light gray, which shows stains rather easily. Perhaps black is the way to go for pot supports.

We are not big bakers in my house. We have used the oven for cookies, meatloaves and cakes, but we often go weeks without using the oven. So far, the oven has worked fine for our occasional batch of brownies. The oven holds the temperature better than any other oven we've ever had.

I'm the one most likely to clean the stove in my household and can say that cleanup of the cooktop is a breeze. The white enamel cleans beautifully with Windex or Simple Green and the removable drip pans around the burners make it a snap to clean them in the sink. Our three-year-old Hotpoint RGB745 still looks great, except for discoloration of the burner supports.

So What Do I Think?

The Hotpoint RGB745 has proved to be a competent and attractive addition to our kitchen. It is easy to use, easy to adjust to the right temperature and easy to clean, all of which are good things. The oven is big enough to hold a large turkey or big cake, and the oven temperature seems to be right on the money, something that has eluded us with previous stoves.

The only things that I don't like about it are the tall backsplash and the easily discolored pot supports for the burners.