French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door refrigerators are a perfect blend of functionality and form. They feature stylish double doors that show the large fridge on top and a freezer drawer beneath. These refrigerators stand out because of their special features, like through-the-door dispensers as well as higher-end Ice makers.
We sought out experts like Ladina Schopf, interior designer and architect, as well as the founder of LS Projects, for tips on how to select the best one. They evaluated the capacity of storage as well as 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 consumers who want to incorporate cutting-edge technologies into their kitchens. This refrigerator is packed with them, from an in-the-door Keurig K-cup coffee maker to a clever water dispenser. But these flourishes don't mask mediocre performance, especially in the refrigerator's freezer and an ineffective temperature-controlled drawer. The refrigerator is expensive and I was expecting better.
Apart from that minor flaw the fridge is a fantastic choice. It features a large freezer compartment that is not common for counter-depth French-door refrigerators. It also holds a lot of frozen food compared to other models.
Inside the fridge, there are 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment is 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is about what you would expect from the size of a French door fridge that costs this much. It also has a decent sized ice maker that is tucked away in the left-hand door, although it's not the biggest I've seen.
You can alter the shelving in both compartments to create customized storage layout for the items you need to keep. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS also looks attractive. The LED lighting adds a nice accent. The in-door storage bins include a third shelf that can be folded down to store large items. The drawers are equipped with temperature controls so that you can set them for Meat, Beverage or Deli settings. The drawers are simple to open and shut however I found the plastic's textured coatings a bit hard on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator has 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, available for iOS and Android devices can let you control your fridge from anywhere in the world, and offers many options for customizing. It also alerts you when doors are left open, when the refrigerator or freezer needs to be defrosted and when it's time to change the filter.
It is nice if the GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill it's an option in a handful of other GE refrigerators that allows you to choose how many cups of water you'd like to disperse at a time. The fridge displays a countdown to show you how much water remains however it's not as effective as Precise fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The Bosch French-door Refrigerator is a stunning piece of equipment. It's designed to look like it's a seamless part in your kitchen. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also boasts a veggie compartment to keep vegetables and fruits fresher longer, and two compressors for maximum preservation of food. The ice maker we tested was one of the most efficient and produces the shape of a pyramid using only water. This refrigerator is a great option for households with a single member or kitchenettes looking for a built-in look and top-of-the-line food preservation.
This refrigerator was the highest-rated refrigerator in our Refrigerators test, for several reasons. The temperature of the freezer remained constant at just above 0°F and never changed by more than a fraction, this is crucial to avoid the risk of a freezer burn. The fridge section of the fridge also performed well, reaching the desired initial set temperature within a matter of hours and keeping the temperature constant over the course of our tests.
Bosch is a household name for its top-quality appliances. Therefore, it's no surprise that the Bosch counter depth fridge can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's Home Connect. The app allows you to control and monitor your refrigerator remotely on your smartphone or tablet. The fridge is expensive and has great features and capabilities at a reasonable cost.
While the fridge is an incredible appliance but it's important to be aware of the limitations. It has a limited shelf space, so you may have to think creatively when it comes to storing large items. The shelves are also not resistant to spills and are easily stained or damaged by sharp objects. The trays can be easily removed from the refrigerator. However, they must be cleaned frequently to stop the growth of mold.
If you are thinking about this refrigerator, make sure you look over our review of the French Door GE Appliances 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 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 an ordinary French door design, with two rows of spill-capture shelving and a set crisper drawers. The top shelf on the right can be folded to provide 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 easy to transfer the frozen ice whenever you need it. french door fridge and freezer comes with clever design features, such as sliding drawers that help you sort your things. It has a large bin for storing frozen food and a separate one for ice.
Another awesome feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. You can manage the temperature, lighting and more of your fridge from your smartphone. It's an easy way to monitor your fridge and manage it, especially when you're not at home.
However, while the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it doesn't add to the overall performance of the refrigerator. In fact it took a bit longer to defrost and chill foods in this fridge than other refrigerators we tried. This is likely due to the larger capacity.
The doors are a different issue with this fridge. The handles with a sunken design let shorter people open them from the bottom. However taller people will have a hard time closing them without slamming. It would have been much better if they came with a front-mounted handle.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is an excellent choice for those who want to combine the look of a French door refrigerator with an efficient design. Its capacity is superior for a counter-depth model and it cools evenly and has a good layout. It's also a little cheaper than the top counter-depth refrigerators that have an ice maker, which can make it a popular choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for a French door fridge that doesn't cost you a fortune and isn't expensive, this Frigidaire is a good choice. It's a minimalist design that isn't as striking in appearance like some of the competitors however it comes with enough features to make it a good pick. Its main feature is the adjustable temperature drawer, which helps keep foods such as meat and vegetables fresher for longer. It also has a large water dispenser as well as a good Ice machine that is fast.
The "Chill Drawer", which sits over the two crisper bins, is a excellent feature. This drawer lets you redirect some of the refrigerator's cooling power directly to this area, which means you can store foods that need extra attention. You can alter the feature using an adjustable slider that is located just on the outside of the drawer. You can also alter the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. I've found that the generic settings work better than the specific ones.
In my tests, the refrigerator's temperatures were fairly constant across the different areas of the refrigerator. The temperatures in the top, bottom and middle of the refrigerator did not differ much from 38 degrees. This is a good 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. You can also combine this fridge with a smart thermometer for more precise measurements of the internal temperature of your fridge.
The Frigidaire FGHB2866PF's exterior is made of grey-bodied stainless steel with a "smudge-proof" finish. It wards off streaks and fingerprints better than other stainless steel finishes 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, primarily in digital and retail. Stephanie is adamant about finding the best products and recommending them to consumers. She concentrates on home and technology.