French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door refrigerators blend design and function. They feature stylish double doors that show an enormous fridge on top, and a freezer drawer beneath. Special features like door-to-door dispensers, high-end ice machines, and customizable flex drawers make them stand out from the crowd.
We sought out experts like Ladina Schopf, interior designer and architect, as well as the founder of LS Projects, for tips on picking the right one. They evaluated storage capacity as well as layout, energy efficiency, and other factors.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
As the name suggests, the GE Profile series is geared towards consumers who want to incorporate cutting-edge technology into their kitchen. This fridge is loaded 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 costs an extra amount, I'd like to see higher quality.
This refrigerator is a good choice, despite the small blip. It features a large freezer compartment which is uncommon for counter-depth French door fridges. It also has a large capacity for frozen food compared to other models.
Inside the fridge, you'll find 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment has 18.5 cubic feet, which is standard for a fridge with a French door at this price. It has a decent-sized icemaker in the left door. But it's not the most spacious one I've seen.
You can alter the shelves in both compartments to create a the perfect storage solution. The GE PYE22PYNFS's design for the interior is good-looking, too. The LED lighting is an attractive touch. The bins for storage inside include a third shelf that can be folded down to store tall items. The drawers come with temperature controls that allow you to set them to Meat, Beverage, or Deli settings. The drawers are simple to open and close, but I found the plastic's textured coatings a bit hard on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator includes all the features you'd expect from a refrigerator in this price range. It has Wi-Fi as well as app support, and GE's SmartHQ Software. The app, available for iOS and Android devices allows you to control your fridge from anywhere in the world, and offers numerous options for customization. It will also send you notifications when the door is left unlocked as well as when the freezer or fridge needs to be defrosted, and when the filter requires a change.
It would be nice if GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill which is an option that is available in a few other GE fridges that allows you to set the number of cups of water you'd like to dispense at a time. It does offer a countdown on the display of the fridge to show how much water you have left, but it'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 one of a kind. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also features a veggie compartment that keeps fruits and vegetables fresher for longer periods, and dual compressors to preserve food items. The Ice maker is among the best we've ever tested and produces a pyramid-shaped Ice with low use of water. This fridge is perfect for a small household or a kitchenette that wants an attractive design and top of the highest quality food preservation.
The fridge was rated the best refrigerator in our Refrigerators test, for a few reasons. The temperature of the freezer remained constant at just above 0°F and never fluctuated more than a tiny fraction - this is essential to avoid freezing burn. The fridge's fridge section also performed well, achieving the desired temperature for initial set within an hour and keeping that temperature steady throughout the course of our tests.
Bosch is a household name for its high-end appliances. Therefore, it's not a surprise that the Bosch counter depth refrigerator can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's Home Connect. The app lets you monitor and control your refrigerator remotely on your smartphone or tablet. The refrigerator is expensive, but it offers great features and capabilities for the cost.
While the fridge is a fantastic appliance however, it is important to understand the limitations. It has a limited space for shelves, so you'll require some creativity when it comes to storing large items. The shelves are also not resistant to spills and are easily stained or damaged by sharp items. The trays can be easily removed from the refrigerator. However, they must be cleaned regularly to prevent the growth of mold.
If you're thinking of buying this refrigerator, you should also check out our review of the French Door GE Appliances Refrigerator and the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
LG Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The LG LRFLC2706S counter-depth refrigerator is a great choice for those who require plenty of space in an extremely compact 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 an ordinary French door layout, with two rows of shelving with spill-capture and a set crisper drawers. The top shelf on the right side can be folded in order to create more space for tall items. 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 simple to transfer frozen ice whenever you need it. The freezer also features clever design features, such as sliding drawers that help you sort your things. It also has a large container for storing frozen food and a separate container for ice.
Another awesome feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. It lets you manage the refrigerator's temperature, lighting, and more using your smartphone. french door fridge freezers 's a simple method to monitor your refrigerator and manage it, especially when away from home.
However, 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 could be due to the greater capacity.
The other issue we have with this refrigerator is its doors. They have handles that are sunken on the front, which allow smaller people to open them from the bottom, however they're difficult for taller people to pull shut without slamming them. It would have been much better if they had front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is a great choice for those looking to blend the aesthetics 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 great layout. It's also less expensive than the top counter depth refrigerator with an icemaker, which makes it a desirable option.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
This Frigidaire French door refrigerator is a good option for those looking for a French-door refrigerator that doesn't cost a lot of budget. It's a basic design that isn't as visually striking like some of the competitors, but it has enough features that make it a great pick. Its most significant feature, the adjustable temperature drawer, helps to keep food items like vegetables and meat fresher for longer. It also has a large water dispenser as well as a good Ice machine that is fast.
Another great feature is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins. This drawer lets you divert a portion of the fridge's cooling power directly to this area, which means you can store foods that require special attention. This feature is adjustable using an outside slider that is located inside the drawer. It is also possible to use this to adjust the general cooling settings for the entire fridge, however, I've found that changing the generic settings tends to be more effective than specific ones.
In my tests, I found that the temperatures of the refrigerator were fairly consistent in different parts of the refrigerator. Temperatures in the top and bottom of the fridge didn't vary much from 38 degrees, and even the middle of the fridge was within one degree of 36. This is a good performance, but it does not quite make it to 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 in order to gain more precise information on the internal temperature of your fridge.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made from grey-bodied stainless with a "smudge resistant" finish. It does a great job of repelling fingerprints and streaks even when compared to the glossy stainless steel finishes on other appliances I've tried.
Stephanie Cronk is the executive editor of Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews team and oversees the site's buyer's guides and review of test products. She has more than 15 years of experience in commerce and publishing, primarily digital and retail. Stephanie is committed to finding and recommending the top products for consumers, with a a focus on home goods and tech.