French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
Melding form with function, French-door refrigerators come with stylish double doors that open to a spacious fridge up the top and a freezer drawer beneath. Special features such as through-the-door dispensers, high-end ice machines and adjustable flex drawers make them stand out from the rest.
We consulted Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect, and the founder of LS Projects - for her suggestions on how to pick the best one. They considered the capacity of storage, layout, and energy efficiency among other aspects.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Like its name implies, GE’s Profile series is aimed at people who want to incorporate cutting-edge technologies into their kitchens. This fridge is loaded with these, from an inside-the-door Keurig K-cup coffee maker to a sophisticated water dispenser. But these flourishes don't mask mediocre performance, especially in the refrigerator's freezer and an ineffective temperature-controlled drawer. Given that this fridge costs an extra amount, I'd like to see higher quality.
Aside from that blip, this fridge is a great choice. It comes with a huge freezer compartment, which is quite uncommon in counter-depth French door fridges, and it holds a fair amount of frozen food when in comparison to similar models.
Inside the fridge, you'll find 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment has 18.5 cubic feet, which is standard for a French-door fridge at this price. It also has a decent-sized icemaker that is tucked away in the left-hand door, although it's not the largest I've seen.
You can alter the shelving in both compartments to create a custom storage setup for what you want to keep. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is also attractive. The LED lighting is an appealing feature. The in-door storage bins come with a third shelf that can be folded down to store tall objects. The drawers come with temperature controls so you can set them to Beverage, Meat, or Deli settings. They're easy to open and close, although I found their plastic textured coatings a bit rough on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator includes all the features you would expect from a refrigerator in this price range. It has Wi-Fi as well as app support, and GE's SmartHQ Software. The app, available for iOS and Android devices can let you control your refrigerator from anywhere in the world, and has numerous options for customization. It also sends you notifications when the door is unlocked and when the fridge or freezer needs to be defrosted, and when the filter needs to be changed.
It would be nice if GE PYE22PYNFS could offer Precise Fill which is a feature found in a few GE refrigerators that allow users to select the number of cups they would like to pour out. The fridge displays a countdown to show you how much water is left, but it's not as effective as Precise Fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Created to appear like a seamless piece of your kitchen Bosch's French door refrigerator is one of a kind. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also has a vegetable compartment that keeps vegetables and fruits fresher for longer and dual compressors to preserve food items. The ice maker we tested is one of the most efficient and produces pyramid shaped ice using minimal water. This fridge is ideal for a small household or a kitchenette that wants an elegant design and top of the highest quality food preservation.
This fridge was the top-rated refrigerator in our Refrigerators test, for several reasons. The temperature of the freezer remained stable at just above 0 degrees Fahrenheit, and never changing more than a fraction an inch. This is essential to avoiding freezing burn. The fridge section of the fridge also performed well, reaching the desired initial set temperature within an hour and keeping that temperature steady throughout the course of our tests.
Bosch is a household name known for its high-end appliances. Therefore, it's no surprise that Bosch's counter depth fridge Bosch counter depth fridge can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's platform Home Connect. The app lets you monitor and control your refrigerator remotely from your tablet or smartphone. The fridge is expensive, however it has excellent features and functionality for the cost.
It's important to understand the limitations of your fridge. It is possible to be creative with tall objects because the fridge has a limited shelf space. Also the shelves aren't impervious to sprills and could be stained or damaged by sharp objects. It's simple to remove the trays from the fridge, but be sure to keep them clean to avoid the growth of mold.
If you're thinking of buying this refrigerator, be sure to check out our reviews of the French Door GE Appliances Refrigerator as well as the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
LG Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The LG LRFLC2706S is a great counter-depth refrigerator that packs a lot of storage space into the frame's compact size. It has a sleek, fingerprint-resistant stainless-steel finish and features thick handles that make them comfortable to grip. The fridge is built with a standard French door design, with two rows of spill-capture shelving and a set crisper drawers. The top shelf on the right can be folded in order to create more space for taller items. You'll also find a full-width drawer for deli and an inside water dispenser.
This refrigerator has a freezer with an ice maker, making it simple to transfer frozen ice whenever you need it. The freezer features thoughtful design elements, as well, such as sliding drawers to help you to organize the place of your items. It also has a large container to store frozen food items, and a separate one for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is a cool feature of the refrigerator. It lets you manage the refrigerator's temperature as well as lighting from your smartphone. It's a simple way to keep track of your refrigerator and manage it, especially when not at home.
Although the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it doesn't improve the overall performance of the refrigerator. In fact it took longer to defrost and chill foods in this refrigerator as compared to other fridges we tried. This is likely due to the larger capacity.
Another issue with this refrigerator is its doors. The handles that are sunken allow smaller people to open them from the bottom. However taller people will have a difficult time closing them without slamming. It would have been more effective if these had front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is an excellent option for those who want to combine the look of a French door refrigerator with more efficient design. Its capacity is higher than average for counter-depth models, and it cools evenly. It's also a little cheaper than the best counter-depth refrigerators that have an ice maker, which can make it a popular choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
This Frigidaire French door refrigerator is a great choice if you want a French-door refrigerator that doesn't cost a lot of budget. It's a basic design that's not as striking visually like some of the competitors, but it has enough features that make it a great option. Its most notable feature is the temperature adjustable drawer, helps to keep food items such as meat and vegetables fresher for longer. It also comes with a huge water dispenser, as well as an excellent Ice machine that is fast.
Another feature that is worth mentioning is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins. french door fridge and freezer lets you divert a portion of the refrigerator's cooling power directly to this area, which means you can keep food items that require extra attention. This feature is adjustable using an outside slider that is located inside the drawer. You can also use this feature to set a general cooling setting for the entire fridge, however, I've found that changing the general settings tends have a better effect than specific ones.
In my tests, the temperature of the refrigerator stayed fairly consistent across different areas of the fridge. Temperatures at the top and bottom of the fridge did not vary significantly from 38 degrees, and the middle of the fridge was within a degree of 36. That's a good performance, but it doesn't quite make it into the top ten in our ratings.
This fridge has a few other neat features, including a temperature-monitoring display that alerts you to fluctuations and provides a forecast for the day ahead. This fridge can be connected with a smart thermostat to get more accurate readings on the internal temperature of your fridge.
The Frigidaire FGHB2866PF's outside is made of grey-bodied stainless steel which has a "smudge-proof" finish. It is capable of removing streaks and fingerprints even when compared to the glossier stainless steel finishes on other appliances I've tried.
Stephanie Cronk, executive editor of Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews Team, oversees the site's buyer's guides as well as product test reviews. She has more than 15 years of publishing and commerce experience, with a focus on retail and digital. Stephanie is passionate about finding the most effective products and recommending them to customers. She is particularly interested in home goods and technology.