French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
Combining form and function, French-door refrigerators come with stylish double doors that open up to a spacious fridge up the top and a freezer drawer beneath. Special features such as through-the-door dispensers, higher-end ice machines and flex drawers that can be customized make them stand out from the crowd.
We asked Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect, and founder of LS Projects - for her tips on how to select the best one. We looked at the capacity of storage, layout, and energy efficiency among other factors.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The name of the series suggests that the GE Profile series is aimed at those who wish to integrate cutting-edge features in their kitchens. This refrigerator is packed with features, from an in-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 a premium, I expect higher quality.
This refrigerator is a good choice, despite the small blip. It comes with a huge freezer compartment, which is quite uncommon in counter-depth French door refrigerators. Furthermore, it can hold a decent amount of frozen food as compared to similar models.
The fridge comes with 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment is 18.5 cubic feet, which is typical for a French-door fridge at this price. It also has a decent-sized icemaker in the left door, though it's not the biggest I've seen.
You can alter the shelves in both compartments to create a a custom storage solution. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is also attractive. Its LED lighting is a nice feature and the inside storage bins come with the third shelf, which can fold down to make it possible to store items that are tall. The drawers come with temperature controls, so you can set them to Meat, Beverage or Deli settings. They're easy to open and close, but I found their textured plastic coatings to be a bit hard on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator is equipped with a all the features you'd expect from a refrigerator at this price, including Wi-Fi and app support via GE's SmartHQ software. The app is available for iOS and Android devices and lets you control your refrigerator from any place across the globe. It also offers numerous options for customizing. It also alerts you when doors are left open, when your fridge or freezer needs to be defrosted and when it's time to change the filter.
It is nice to have GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill the option that is that is available in a few GE refrigerators that allow users to set the number of cups they would like to pour out. The fridge displays a countdown timer to display how much water is left but it's not as useful as Precise Fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The Bosch French-door Refrigerator is a striking piece. It's designed to look like a seamless piece of your kitchen. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. french door fridge and freezer features a veggie compartment that keeps fruits and vegetables fresher for longer and dual compressors to preserve food. The Ice maker is among the best we've ever tested and produces pyramid-shaped Ice with low water usage. This fridge is ideal for a small household or a kitchenette that wants an attractive design and top of the highest quality food preservation.
This fridge was the top-rated refrigerator in our Refrigerators test, for several reasons. Its freezer temperatures remained constant at just above 0°F and never fluctuated by more than a fraction, this is crucial to prevent the risk of a freezer burn. The refrigerator section of the fridge also did well. It reached the initial temperature within an hour, and remained at the temperature throughout our tests.
Bosch is a household name for its top-quality appliances. Therefore, it's not a surprise that Bosch counter depth refrigerator is one of them. Bosch counter depth fridge can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's Home Connect. The app allows you to monitor and control the refrigerator remotely using your tablet or smartphone. The fridge is a bit expensive, however it has great features and capabilities for the cost.
While the fridge is an amazing appliance however, it is important to understand the limitations. You may need to get creative with tall objects because the fridge is limited in shelf space. Also, the shelves are not sprillproof and can be easily damaged or stained by sharp objects. The trays can be easily removed from the refrigerator. However, they should be cleaned frequently to stop the growth of mold.
If you are considering this refrigerator, be sure to check out our review of the GE Appliances French Door Refrigerator and the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
LG Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The LG LRFLC2706S counter-depth fridge is a great choice for those who need lots of space within the space of a compact frame. It has a sleek, fingerprint-resistant stainless-steel finish and features thick handles that make them comfortable to grip. The fridge features a standard French door layout, with two rows of shelves that can be used to capture spills and a set of crisper drawers. The top shelf to the right can be folded down to make space for tall items. There's also a full-width storage drawer for food items and an internal water dispenser.
One of the best features of this refrigerator is that its ice maker is inside the freezer, making it easy to transfer the ice to the refrigerator for use when needed. The freezer also features clever design features, such as sliding drawers that help you sort your things. It also has a huge bin that can accommodate plenty of frozen food items and an additional ice storage bin.
Smart InstaView panel is another awesome feature of the refrigerator. It lets you manage the refrigerator's temperature, lighting, and more using your smartphone. It's an easy way to keep track of your fridge and manage it, especially when away from home.
Although the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it does not necessarily enhance the overall performance of the refrigerator. The refrigerator took longer to defrost food and chill it than some others we tested. This is probably due to its greater capacity.
The doors pose a problem with this refrigerator. The sunken handles let shorter people open them from the bottom. However taller people will struggle to close them without slamming them. It would have been better if they had handles mounted on the front.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a good choice for those who want to combine the benefits of a fridge with a French door with a more efficient layout. Its capacity is superior for a counter-depth model and it cools evenly and has a good layout. It's also a bit cheaper than the best counter depth refrigerator that comes with an ice maker, which makes it a desirable option.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for an French door fridge that doesn't break the bank, this Frigidaire is a great choice. It's a basic design that isn't as striking in appearance as other models however it comes with enough features that make it a great choice. Its most notable characteristic is the adjustable temperature drawer which helps keep food items such as meat and vegetables fresher for longer. It also comes with a huge water dispenser and a decent ice maker that operates quickly.
Another great feature is the "Chill Drawer" that sits above the two crisper bins. This drawer allows you to use a portion of the fridge's cooling power to this area so that you can store foods which need extra attention. You can adjust this feature by using a slider that's located right in the middle of the drawer. You can also use this feature to adjust the general cooling settings for the entire fridge, however, I've found that changing the general settings tends be more effective than specific ones.
In my tests, the temperature of the refrigerator stayed fairly consistent across different areas of the refrigerator. The temperatures in the top, bottom and middle of the refrigerator didn't vary much from 38 degrees. This is a pretty good performance however it doesn't be among the top 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. The fridge can be linked with a smart thermostat in order to get more accurate readings on the internal temperature of your fridge.
The Frigidaire FGHB2866PF's outside is made of stainless steel with a grey-bodied body which has a "smudge-proof" finish. It does an excellent job of repelling fingerprints and streaks even when compared with shiny stainless steel finishes on other appliances I've tested.
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 experience in publishing and commerce including retail and digital. Stephanie is passionate about finding the top products and recommending them to customers. She focuses on home goods and technology.