BLACK+DECKER RC516 Review: One-Button 16-Cup Family Cooker
"The RC506's bigger sibling. Same thermal switch, twice the uncooked rice. Buy it for family white rice and a steamer tray. Do not buy it as the frozen 6-cup RC506, and do not confuse 16 cups cooked with 16 cups uncooked."
This desk does not run a product test fleet. What follows is BLACK+DECKER’s RC516X page, the US use-and-care chart, and owner-consensus research — not a 16-cup bake-off.
This is not the frozen RC506. That page’s title stays BLACK+DECKER RC506 Review: One-Button 6-Cup for White Rice. This URL is the 16-cup-cooked sibling Amazon already ranks as a bestseller.
How to read the Amazon title (SKU check)
| Must be on the listing | This desk’s read | Skip if the title says… |
|---|---|---|
| RC516 or RC516X | 8 cups uncooked / 16 cups cooked | RC506, 6-cup cooked |
| ASIN B016Y8JSC2 | The ASIN this review listing-checks | B016Y8JSK4 (RC506) |
| One-touch Cook / Warm | Thermal switch | Digital delay, fuzzy logic, GABA |
| Steaming basket | In the box on the brand page | Tacook / synchro plate |
The included rice measuring cup is ¾ US cup (6 fl oz) — the same 180 ml go this site already explains on cup size. The RC516 use-and-care chart is explicit: do not use a standard 8 oz cup to measure uncooked rice.
Brand specs this desk will repeat: 16 cups cooked, 120 V, 500 W, about 11.5 × 11.5 × 9.25 in, dishwasher-safe bowl and glass lid on the manufacturer page, 2-year limited warranty. Some marketing lines say “PFAS-free nonstick ceramic coating.” That is still a film, not the 304 ARC-753SG. Confirm the live listing if ceramic-coat vs PTFE is why you are here.
What the box actually is
| Spec | Brand / manual |
|---|---|
| Model | RC516 / RC516X |
| Uncooked max | 8 rice-cup measures |
| Cooked yield (manual chart) | About 14 standard 8 oz cups at 8 white-rice measures — marketing still says “16-cup” |
| Control | Cook lever → Warm |
| Lid | Tempered glass, steam vent, lid holder |
| Extras | Steaming basket, rice measure, spoon |
| Bowl | Removable nonstick |
The use-and-care white-rice chart (rice measures → water line → minutes): 2 measures ~21–26 min; 8 measures ~33–38 min. Brown rice on that chart uses extra water and a lower max (6 rice measures), because a thermal switch does not know about bran.
RC516 vs RC506 vs Hamilton Beach 37518
Same company, different job from the 6-cup. Same one-button class, different job from the digital 20-cup-cooked Hamilton.
| RC516 (this cooker) | RC506 | Hamilton Beach 37518 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASIN | B016Y8JSC2 | B016Y8JSK4 | B0752VWV65 |
| Uncooked | 8 rice-cups | 3 rice-cups | 10 rice-cups class (20 cooked) |
| Control | Thermal switch | Thermal switch | Digital + delay |
| Steamer | Basket | Basket | Basket |
| Why you pick it | Family one-button | Dorm / couple 6-cup | Delay timer in the same size band |
Pick the RC516 if you already liked the RC506 and the pot was too small. Pick the RC506 if 6 cups cooked is enough — and leave that frozen title alone. Pick the 37518 if the delay timer is the reason you opened a family-size tab. Frozen Hamilton title stays as-is.
COSORI 10-cup fuzzy (also frozen title): CRC-R501 if you want named presets in a big coated pot, not a lever.
White rice, brown rice, steam
White rice is why this class sells. Owner-consensus on BLACK+DECKER one-button pots is the same sentence as the RC506: the printed water line can run wet for some long-grain bags. Start on the line, then trim water on the next batch. Ratio guide. This desk will not invent a third “manual is always wrong” diary.
Brown rice is passable with the manual’s extra-water chart. It is not a GABA cycle. CR-0675F if brown is weekly.
Steamer basket sits above the rice. Vegetables and fish are the intended side. It is not synchro-cook the way Tiger JBV prints Tacook.
Keep Warm after the click. Fridge leftovers; this pot has no Reheat key. Reheat function. Keep-warm safety.
Starchy foam from the vent on a full pot of short-grain is a class complaint. Rinse. Do not fill past the 8-cup line. Towel under the cooker if your kitchen already knows this trick.
Skip-buy
- You cook for one or two. RC506 or Aroma 6-cup.
- You wanted a coating-free pot. ARC-753SG — but that is only 3 cups uncooked.
- You wanted a delay timer. Hamilton Beach 37518.
- You wanted Micom / Scorched Rice / Auto-Clean. CR-0675F or CR-1020F.
- You thought “16-cup” meant 16 cooker-cups of raw rice. It does not.
Care
Hand-wash the coating if you want it to last, even if the page says dishwasher-safe. Soft sponge. Scorched pot if you dry-cycled it. There is no inner-lid gasket SKU like a Micom — glass lid plus rim. Gasket page is for Micom inner lids.
Final verdict
Editorial read: 4.2/5 as a family one-button cooker. Amazon already treats this SKU as a bestseller. This site had the 6-cup frozen review and not the 16-cup-cooked sibling. Same lever, bigger pot, still not fuzzy logic.
Check the current price on Amazon →
Related reviews
✅ Pros
- 8 rice-cups uncooked / 16 cups cooked — a real family one-button pot
- One-touch Cook / Warm; steamer basket in the box
- Tempered glass lid with a built-in lid holder
- Brand page lists 500 W / 120 V and a two-year limited warranty
- Street price in the same band as the 6-cup RC506
❌ Cons
- No fuzzy logic, no delay timer, no Reheat key
- Manual water lines still need a personal tweak — owner-consensus on this class
- Starchy vent sputter on a full short-grain pot is a class complaint
- Coated bowl is a wear item; RC516 is not the 304 Aroma
- Footprint is a 16-cup-cooked cooker, not a dorm 6-cup
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the BLACK+DECKER RC516 the same as the RC506?
No. RC506 is 3 cups uncooked / 6 cups cooked (ASIN B016Y8JSK4). RC516 / RC516X is 8 cups uncooked / 16 cups cooked (B016Y8JSC2). Same one-button class, different body. This site will not retitle the frozen RC506 page.
Does 16-cup mean 16 cups uncooked?
No. BLACK+DECKER's own copy: 8 included rice-cup measures uncooked, yielding up to 16 standard cups cooked. The included cup is a 180 ml rice cup, not a US 240 ml cup.
Does the RC516 have a delay timer or fuzzy logic?
No. Two heat settings: Cook until the moisture is gone, then Warm. If you need a digital delay, the Hamilton Beach 37518 is the other family-size keeper on this site.
Is the RC516 the same as the RC514?
Do not assume that. This review listing-checks RC516 / RC516X on B016Y8JSC2. The RC516 manual even borrows a measuring-cup part number from the RC514 family. Match the stamp on the cooker, not a leftover RC514 photo.
Can I steam vegetables in the RC516?
Yes. The brand page includes a steaming basket. That is the side-dish trick. It is not a Tiger Tacook plate.
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Ready to Upgrade Your Rice Game?
The BLACK+DECKER RC516 is waiting for you. Perfect rice, every time.
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