French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door refrigerators blend design and function. They have stylish double doors that show a large fridge on top, and a freezer drawer beneath. Special features like door-to-door dispensers, ice machines with higher-end features, and customizable flex drawers make them stand out from the rest.
check here asked Ladina Schopf - an interior designer, architect and the founder of LS Projects - for her advice on how to choose the right home. They considered storage capacity, layout and energy efficiency among other factors.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
As its name suggests, the GE Profile series is targeted at those who wish to incorporate cutting-edge technology into their kitchen. This fridge has them all, from the Keurig K cup coffee maker on the door, to a clever dispenser of water. But these flourishes don't mask mediocre performance, especially in the refrigerator's freezer and an ineffective temperature-controlled drawer. This fridge is expensive and I expected more.
Aside from that blip, this fridge is a fantastic choice. It has a huge freezer compartment which is uncommon for counter-depth French-door refrigerators. It also holds a lot of frozen food compared to other models.
The fridge has 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment is 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is about par for an French door fridge that costs this much. It also has an adequate-sized icemaker that is tucked away in the left door, though it isn't the largest I've seen.
You can alter the shelves in both compartments to create a a custom storage solution. The GE PYE22PYNFS's design for the interior is good-looking, too. The LED lighting is an appealing touch. The storage bins in the door 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, however I found their plastic textured coatings a bit difficult on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator includes the complete set of features you'd expect from a refrigerator in this price range with Wi-Fi and app support via GE's SmartHQ software. The app, which is available for iOS and Android devices, lets you control your fridge from anywhere in the world, and has many options for customizing. It also alerts you when a door is left open, when the refrigerator or freezer needs defrosting and when it's time to change the filter.
It would be nice if the GE PYE22PYNFS came with Precise Fill, an option available in a handful of other GE fridges that allow you to set the number of cups of water you'd like to disperse simultaneously. It also has a countdown on the fridge's display to display how much water you have remaining, but that's not as useful as Precise fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Designed to look as a seamless element of your kitchen Bosch's French door refrigerator is an eye-catching piece. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also features a veggie compartment which keeps vegetables and fruits fresher for longer periods, and two compressors for preserving food. The Ice maker is among the top we've tested and produces pyramid-shaped ice that is low in use of water. This fridge is the perfect option for households with a single member or kitchenettes that want an integrated look and top-of-the-line 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 changed more than a fraction - this is crucial to avoid the risk of a freezer burn. The refrigerator section of the fridge also did well. It reached the initial temperature set within an hour, and maintained the temperature throughout our tests.
Bosch is a household name known for its top-quality appliances. Therefore, it's no surprise that Bosch's counter depth fridge Bosch counter depth refrigerator can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's Home Connect. The app allows you to control and monitor your refrigerator remotely from your smartphone or tablet. The fridge is a bit expensive, but it comes with top-quality features and functions for the cost.
It's important to understand the limitations of your fridge. It is possible to be creative with tall items because the fridge has a limited shelf space. Also the shelves aren't impervious to sprills and could be damaged or stained by sharp objects. It's simple to remove the refrigerator trays however, you must keep them clean to avoid mold growth.
If you are thinking about this refrigerator, make sure you read 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 option for those who require plenty of space in a small frame. It has a sleek, fingerprint-resistant stainless-steel finish and features thick handles that make them comfortable to grip. Inside, the fridge has the standard French-door layout, with gallon-sized door bins at each door, two rows of shelves that capture spills and a set more spacious 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 products from the deli and an inside water dispenser.
One of the best features of this refrigerator is that its ice maker is inside the freezer, which makes it simple to move ice into the fridge for use when needed. The freezer is designed with thoughtful elements, for instance, sliding drawers to help you better organize the position of items. It also has a large bin that can accommodate plenty of frozen food items as well as an additional storage bin for ice.
Another awesome feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. It lets you control the fridge's temperature and lighting via your smartphone. It's a simple method to monitor your fridge and manage it, particularly when you're away from home.
But while the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it doesn't necessarily improve the overall performance of the refrigerator. In fact, it took longer to defrost and chill food in this refrigerator than other refrigerators we test. This is likely due to its bigger capacity.
The doors are another problem with this refrigerator. The sunken handles allow shorter people to open them from the bottom. However taller people have a hard time closing them without slamming them. It would have been better if they had front-mounted handle.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is an excellent option for those who want to combine the aesthetics of a French-door refrigerator with more efficient design. Its capacity is above average for a counter-depth model, and it cools well and has a nice layout. It's also less expensive than the top counter depth refrigerator with an icemaker, which makes it an attractive choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for a French door fridge that doesn't cost you a fortune this Frigidaire is a good choice. It's a simple fridge that may not be as eye-catching like some of its competitors however it has enough features to make it a good option. Its most important feature is the adjustable temperature drawer, which helps keep foods like veggies and meat fresher for longer. It also has a large water dispenser as well as a good ice machine that works fast.
Another feature that is worth mentioning is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins. This drawer allows you to redirect some of your fridge's cooling power to this area so it can be used to store food items that require special attention. This feature can be adjusted by using a slider on the outside of the drawer. You can also use this feature to adjust the general cooling settings for the whole fridge, however, I've found that changing the general settings tends produce better results than specific ones.
In my tests, I found that the temperatures in the refrigerator were fairly consistent across different parts of the fridge. The temperatures in the top, bottom and middle of the refrigerator did not differ much from 38 degrees. This is a great performance but isn't quite at the top of 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 gain more precise information on the internal temperature of your fridge.
The Frigidaire FGHB2866PF's outside is made of stainless steel with a grey-bodied body with a "smudge-proof" finish. It wards off streaks and fingerprints better than other stainless steel finishes I've seen.
Stephanie Cronk is the executive editor on Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews team and oversees the site's buyer's guide and review of test products. She has over 15 years of experience in commerce and publishing including retail and digital. Stephanie is passionate about finding and recommending the top products for consumers, with a a focus on home goods and tech.