French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
Melding form with function, French-door refrigerators come with elegant double doors that open up to an enormous fridge on the top and a freezer drawer below. These refrigerators stand out due to their distinctive features, like through-the-door dispensers as well as higher-end Ice makers.
We consulted Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect, and the founder of LS Projects - for her advice on how to choose the right one. We looked at the storage capacity, layout, and energy efficiency among other aspects.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
As its name suggests, GE’s Profile series is aimed at consumers who want to integrate cutting-edge features in their kitchens. This fridge has them all, from the Keurig K cup coffee maker inside the door to a sophisticated dispenser of water. But these flourishes don't mask mediocre performance, especially in the refrigerator's freezer and an ineffective temperature-controlled drawer. Since french door fridge freezer , I'd expect better.
This refrigerator is a good choice, despite the blip. It has a large freezer compartment, which is quite uncommon in counter-depth French door refrigerators. Additionally, it holds a good amount of frozen food as compared to similar models.
The fridge has 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment is 18.5 cubic feet, which is the standard for a French-door refrigerator at this price. It has a decent sized icemaker in the left door. However it's not the biggest one I've seen.
You can adjust the shelves in both compartments for an individual storage solution. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is attractive. The LED lighting is a nice feature. The in-door storage bins include a third shelf that can be folded down to store tall objects. The drawers come with temperature controls that allow you to set them to Meat, Beverage, or Deli settings. They're easy to open and close, however I found their textured plastic coatings to be a bit rough on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator comes with the all the features you'd expect from a refrigerator at this price that includes Wi-Fi as well as app support via GE's SmartHQ software. The app, which is available for iOS and Android devices can let you control your fridge from anywhere in the world, and has numerous options for customization. It will also send you notifications when the door is left unlocked and when the freezer or fridge needs to be defrosted, and when the filter requires a change.
It would be nice if GE PYE22PYNFS included Precise fill, an option available in other GE fridges that allows you to set the number of cups of water you'd like to disperse at once. It does have an indicator on the fridge's display to show how much water you have remaining, but that's not as useful as Precise Fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Created to appear as a seamless element of your kitchen, Bosch's French-door refrigerator is a standout. 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 dual compressors to preserve food items. The ice maker is one of the top we've tested and produces pyramid-shaped ice that is low in water consumption. This refrigerator is a great choice for single household or kitchenettes looking for a sleek design and top of the line food preservation.
This fridge was rated the best in our Refrigerators Test due to a variety of reasons. Its freezer temperatures remained constant at just above 0° Fahrenheit and never fluctuated by more than a fraction, this is crucial to prevent freezing burn. The refrigerator section of the fridge also performed well. It reached the initial temperature set within an hour, and remained at the temperature throughout our tests.
Bosch is a household name for its high-end 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. This app allows you to monitor and control your fridge remotely from your tablet or smartphone. The fridge is a bit expensive, but it offers great features and capabilities for the cost.
While the fridge is a fantastic appliance but it's important to be aware of the limitations. It has a small shelf space, so you'll have to think creatively when storing tall objects. The shelves are not resistant to spills and are easily stained or damaged by sharp objects. The trays are easily removed from the fridge. However, they must be cleaned frequently to stop the growth of mold.
If you're thinking about buying this refrigerator, make sure to also review our opinions on the French Door GE Appliances Refrigerator as well as 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 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. The fridge is built with a standard French door design, with two rows of spill-capture shelving and a set of crisper drawers. The top right shelf can be folded down to give taller items more room. You'll also find a full width drawer for deli items and an internal water dispenser.
This refrigerator has a freezer with an ice maker making it easy to move the frozen ice whenever you need it. The freezer is designed with thoughtful elements, too, like sliding drawers to help you to organize the place of items. It has a large bin to store frozen food items, and a separate one for ice.
Another great feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. It allows you to control the fridge's temperature and lighting via your smartphone. It's a simple method to monitor your refrigerator and control it, particularly when you're not at home.
However, while 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 food in this fridge as compared to other fridges we test. This is likely due to the larger capacity.
The other issue we have with the doors of this refrigerator. They have sunken handles at the front, which allows smaller people to open them from the bottom, but they're not easy for taller people to steer closed without slamming the doors. It would have been much better to have front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a excellent choice for those who want to combine the advantages of a French-door refrigerator's aesthetics with a more efficient layout. Its capacity is superior for a counter-depth model, and it cools well and has a nice layout. It's also a bit less than the top counter-depth refrigerator that has an ice maker, which can make it a popular choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for an French door refrigerator that won't break the bank, this Frigidaire is a solid option. It's a minimalist design that's not as striking visually as other models, but it has enough features to make it a solid pick. Its most important feature is the adjustable temperature drawer that helps keep food items like meat and vegetables fresher for longer. It also comes with a large ice maker and a water dispenser.
Another great feature is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins. The drawer allows you to divert a portion of the refrigerator's cooling power directly into this area, meaning you can store foods that require extra attention. This feature is adjustable using an outside slider that is located inside the drawer. You can also set the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. I've found that the general settings are more effective than the specific ones.
During my tests, the temperature of the refrigerator were fairly consistent across all areas of the fridge. The temperatures in the middle, top and bottom of the refrigerator didn't vary much from 38 degrees. This is a great performance however it doesn't be among the top in our rankings.
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. french door fridge freezers 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 stainless steel with a grey body that has a "smudge-proof" finish. It is capable of removing streaks and fingerprints even when compared with shiny stainless steel finishes on other appliances I've tested.
Stephanie Cronk is the executive editor on Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews team and oversees the site's buyer's guides and test-product reviews. She has more than 15 years of experience in commerce and publishing, primarily digital and retail. Stephanie is enthusiastic about finding and recommending the best products for consumers, with a particular focus on home items and technology.