French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
Melding form with functionality, French-door refrigerators have elegant double doors that open to an enormous fridge on the top and a freezer drawer below. These refrigerators stand out because of their unique features, including door-to-door dispensers and more expensive ice makers.
We contacted Ladina Schopf - an interior designer, architect, and founder of LS Projects - for her suggestions on how to pick the best one. We looked at the capacity of storage, layout, and energy efficiency, among other aspects.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The name implies that GE's Profile series targets those who want to incorporate cutting-edge technology into their kitchen. The refrigerator is brimming 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. Since this refrigerator is more, I'd expect higher quality.
Apart from that minor flaw, this fridge is a fantastic choice. It boasts a spacious freezer compartment, which is uncommon in counter-depth French door fridges, and it can hold a decent amount of frozen foods in comparison to similar models.
The fridge has 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment offers 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is about par for an French door fridge that costs this much. It also has a decent sized ice maker packed into the left door, though it's not the largest I've seen.
You can alter the shelving in each compartment to create a customized storage layout for the items you need to keep. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS also looks attractive. The LED lighting is a nice touch. The in-door storage bins come with a third shelf that can be folded down to store tall items. The drawers include temperature controls that allow you to set them to Meat, Beverage, or Deli settings. The drawers are simple to shut and open however I found the textured plastic coatings a bit hard on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator comes with all the features you'd expect from a refrigerator in this price range. This includes Wi-Fi as well as app support and GE's SmartHQ Software. The app is compatible with iOS and Android devices and allows you to control your refrigerator from anywhere around the world. It also comes with many options for customization. It also alerts you when doors are left open, when the refrigerator or freezer needs defrosting and when it's time to change the filter.
It is nice it GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill, an option that is available in a few GE refrigerators that allow users to set the number of cups they would like to disperse. The fridge shows a countdown to show you how much water remains, but it's not as helpful as Precise fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The Bosch French-door Refrigerator is a striking piece. It's designed to appear like it's a seamless part of your kitchen. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also has a vegetable compartment that helps keep vegetables and fruits fresher longer and has dual compressors for maximum preservation of food. The ice maker is one of the most efficient we've ever tested and produces a pyramid-shaped ice with a low water usage. This fridge is the perfect option for a single family or kitchenettes who want an integrated look and top-of-the-line food preservation.
This refrigerator was rated as the best in our Refrigerators Test due to a variety of reasons. The freezer temperature remained steady at just above 0° Fahrenheit and never fluctuated more than a tiny fraction - this is crucial to prevent the risk of a freezer burn. The fridge section of the fridge also performed well. It reached the initial temperature within an hour, and maintained the temperature throughout our testing.
Bosch is known for its top-quality appliances. It's therefore no surprise that Bosch's counter depth fridge Bosch counter depth refrigerator can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's platform Home Connect. The app lets you monitor and control your fridge remotely from your tablet or smartphone. The fridge is a bit expensive, but it comes with excellent features and functionality for the price.
It is important to know the limitations of your fridge. It is possible to be creative with tall objects because the fridge is limited in shelf space. The shelves are also not spillproof and can easily be stained or damaged by sharp items. The trays can be easily removed from the refrigerator. However, they must be cleaned frequently to stop the growth of mold.
If you're thinking of buying this refrigerator, be sure to 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 is a top counter-depth refrigerator that packs plenty of storage in 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 features an ordinary French door layout, with two rows of spill-capture shelving and a set 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.
The refrigerator comes with an ice maker, making it easy to transfer the ice when needed. french door refrigerator freezer features thoughtful design features, like sliding drawers that help you sort your things. It has a large bin for storing frozen food and a separate container for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is another awesome feature of the refrigerator. You can manage the temperature, lighting, and other aspects of your fridge using your smartphone. It's a great way to monitor and manage your refrigerator, particularly if you're away from home.
The Smart InstaView feature is neat however it doesn't improve the efficiency of the fridge. This fridge took longer to defrost food and chill it than other models we test. This could be due to the larger capacity.
The other issue we have with the door of this refrigerator. The handles that are sunken allow shorter people to open them from the bottom. However, taller people still struggle to close them without slamming. It would have been better if these had front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a ideal option for those looking to combine the advantages of a French-door refrigerator's aesthetics with an efficient layout. Its capacity is higher than average for a counter-depth model and it cools well and has a nice layout. It's also less expensive than the best counter-depth refrigerator with an ice maker, which helps make it an attractive option.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
This Frigidaire French door refrigerator is a great choice when you're looking for a French door fridge that won't break the budget. It has a simple design that isn't as striking visually as some of the competition but it does have enough features to make it a good option. Its main feature is the adjustable temperature drawer, which helps keep foods like meat and vegetables fresher for longer. It also comes with a huge ice maker as well as a water dispenser.
french door fridge freezer ", which is located over the two crisper bins, is a great feature. This drawer lets you redirect part of the fridge's cooling power directly to this area, so you can put away food items that need extra attention. This feature can be adjusted by using an outside slider that is located inside the drawer. You can also set the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. I have found that the general settings are more effective than the specific ones.
During my tests, I discovered that the temperatures of the refrigerator were fairly consistent in different areas of the fridge. Temperatures at the top and bottom of the fridge didn't vary very far from 38 degrees, and the middle of the fridge was within a degree of 36. This is a solid performance but isn't quite at the top of 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. This fridge can be paired with a smart thermostat in order to get more accurate readings on the internal temperature of your fridge.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made of grey-bodied stainless that has a "smudge proof" finish. It blocks streaks and fingerprints better than other stainless steel finishes I've seen.
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 commerce and publishing experience, mostly in retail and digital. Stephanie is adamant about finding the top products and recommending them to consumers. She concentrates on home and technology.