French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
Melding form with function, French-door refrigerators offer stylish double doors that open to an expansive fridge on the top and a freezer drawer beneath. Special features such as through-the-door dispensers, higher-end ice machines, and customizable flex drawers make them stand out from the rest.
We sought out experts like Ladina Schopf, an interior designer and architect, as well as the founder of LS Projects, for tips on picking the right one. They evaluated the capacity of storage as well as layout and energy efficiency, among other features.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Like its name implies, the GE Profile series is targeted at those who wish to incorporate cutting-edge technologies into their kitchens. This refrigerator has it all, from a Keurig K cup coffee maker in 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. Since this refrigerator is an extra amount, I'd like to see better.
Apart from that minor flaw, this fridge is a great option. It has a large freezer compartment, which is unusual for counter-depth French door fridges. It also holds plenty of frozen food items compared to other models.
The fridge is equipped with 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment is 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is roughly on par for an French door fridge that costs this much. It has a decent sized icemaker in the left door. However 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 interior design is stylish, too. Its LED lighting is a nice feature and the storage bins have an additional shelf that can fold down so that you can store items that are tall. The drawers are equipped with temperature controls so that you can set them to Meat, Beverage, or Deli settings. The drawers are simple to shut and open however I found the plastic's textured coatings to be a bit rough on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator comes with all the features you'd expect from a refrigerator within this price range. This includes Wi-Fi as well as app support and 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 it has numerous options for customization. It will also send notifications when the door is unlocked, when the fridge or freezer must be defrosted and when the filter needs to be changed.
It would be nice it GE PYE22PYNFS offered Precise fill, an option found in a few GE refrigerators that allows users to set the number of cups they would like to dispense. It does offer an indicator on the fridge display to display how much water you have remaining, but that's not as useful as Precise Fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The Bosch French-door Refrigerator is a stunning piece of equipment. It's designed to appear like it's a seamless component 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 the best food preservation. The ice maker we tested is one of the most efficient and makes an ice pyramid with only a little water. This refrigerator is the ideal choice for single household or kitchenettes who want a built-in look and top of the line food preservation.
This fridge was rated the best in our Refrigerators Test for several reasons. The temperature of the freezer remained constant at just above 0°F and never fluctuated more than a tiny fraction - this is crucial to prevent freezing burn. The fridge's refrigerator section also performed well, reaching the temperature that was set for the initial setting within a matter of hours and keeping the temperature constant over the course of our testing.
Bosch is a household name known for its high-end appliances. Therefore, it's no surprise that Bosch's counter depth fridge Bosch counter depth fridge can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's Home Connect. This app lets you monitor and control your refrigerator remotely on your tablet or smartphone. The refrigerator is costly however, it offers excellent features and functions at a reasonable price.
While the fridge is an incredible piece of equipment however, it is important to understand the limitations. It has a narrow shelf space, which means you may have to think creatively when storing tall objects. Also, the shelves are not sprillproof and can be easily stained or damaged by sharp objects. The trays can be easily removed from the refrigerator. However, they should be cleaned frequently to stop the growth of mold.
If french door fridge freezers of buying 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 an excellent counter-depth refrigerator that packs plenty of storage space into 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 the standard French door design, and two rows of shelving with spill-capture and a set crisper drawers. The top shelf to the right can be folded to provide more space for taller items. There's also a full-width drawer to store products from the deli and an inside water dispenser.
This refrigerator has a freezer with an ice maker, making it easy to transfer the frozen ice as needed. The freezer has thoughtful design elements, for instance, sliding drawers that can help you better organize the placement of your items. It comes with a large bin for storing frozen food and a separate bin for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is a cool feature of the refrigerator. It lets you control the fridge's temperature as well as lighting using your smartphone. It's a good way to control and monitor your refrigerator, especially if you're away from home.
The Smart InstaView feature is neat but it doesn't improve the performance of the fridge. In fact, it took longer to defrost and chill food in this fridge than some of the others we tested. This is likely due to the bigger capacity.
The doors are a different issue with this fridge. The handles that are sunken allow shorter people to open them from the bottom. However taller people have a difficult time closing them without slamming. It would have been more effective if they had handles mounted on the front.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is an excellent option for those who want to combine the look of a French door refrigerator with a 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 a little less than the best counter depth refrigerator that comes with an ice maker, making it a desirable choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for an French door fridge that doesn't cost you a fortune and isn't expensive, this Frigidaire is a great choice. It's a simple fridge which may not be as eye-catching as some of its competitors however, it does have enough features to make it a good option. Its most important characteristic is the adjustable temperature drawer, which helps keep foods like veggies and meat fresher for longer. It also comes with a huge water dispenser as well as a good ice machine that works fast.
Another great feature is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins. The drawer allows you to divert some of the refrigerator's cooling power directly into this area, so you can store foods that need extra attention. You can alter this feature using the slider located on the in the middle of the drawer. You can also adjust 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, I discovered that the temperatures of the refrigerator were fairly consistent across different parts of the fridge. The temperatures in the middle, top and bottom of the refrigerator did not differ significantly from 38 degrees. This is a great performance, but it doesn't 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. You can also combine this fridge with a smart thermometer to get more precise measurements of the internal temperature of your fridge.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made from grey-bodied stainless that has a "smudge proof" finish. It does an excellent job of removing streaks and fingerprints, even compared to shiny 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 guide and review of test products. She has over 15 years of experience in publishing and commerce, primarily digital and retail. Stephanie is adamant about finding the most effective products and recommending them to customers. She focuses on home goods and technology.