French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door refrigerators are a perfect blend of functionality and form. They come with elegant double doors that open to reveal the large fridge on top and a freezer drawer beneath. These refrigerators stand out because of their distinctive features, including through-the-door dispensers and higher-end ice makers.
We contacted Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect, and the founder of LS Projects - for her tips on how to select the right one. They considered the capacity of storage, layout, and energy efficiency, among other features.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The name of the series suggests that the GE Profile series is targeted at consumers who want to incorporate cutting-edge technology into their kitchens. This refrigerator is packed with features, 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. Since this refrigerator is an extra amount, I'd like to see higher quality.
This fridge is a great choice, despite the small blip. It has a large freezer compartment, which is unusual for counter-depth French-door refrigerators. It also holds a lot of frozen food compared to other models.
The fridge is equipped with 17 shelves and compartments. The refrigerator compartment has 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is about par for a French door refrigerator that costs this much. It also has a decent-sized icemaker packed into the left door, but it's not the biggest I've seen.
You can alter the shelves in both compartments to create a customized storage arrangement for the items you need to store. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is attractive. The LED lighting is an attractive feature. The in-door storage bins come with 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 plastic textured coatings to be a bit difficult on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator comes with the all the features you'd expect from a fridge in this price range, including Wi-Fi and app support through GE's SmartHQ software. The app is available on iOS and Android devices and allows you to manage your refrigerator from anywhere in the globe. It also has a lot of customization options. It also gives you notifications when doors are left open, when your fridge or freezer needs defrosting and when it's time to change the filter.
It would be great if GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill the option that is that is available in a few GE refrigerators that allow users to set the amount of cups they wish to disperse. It does have a countdown 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
The Bosch French-door Refrigerator is a stunning piece of equipment. It's designed to look 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 keeps vegetables and fruits fresher for longer, and dual compressors to preserve food. The ice maker we tested is one of the most efficient and makes pyramid shaped ice using minimal water. This fridge is the perfect choice for single household or kitchenettes that want a sleek design and top-of-the-line food preservation.
This fridge was rated as the most efficient in our Refrigerators Test for a variety of reasons. The temperature of the freezer remained constant at just above 0° Fahrenheit and never changed more than a fraction - this is essential to avoid the risk of a freezer burn. The refrigerator section of the refrigerator also did well. It reached the initial temperature within an hour, and remained at that temperature throughout our testing.
Bosch is a household name for its high-end appliances. Therefore, it's no surprise that the Bosch counter depth refrigerator can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's Home Connect. The app allows you to monitor and control your refrigerator remotely on your tablet or smartphone. The refrigerator is expensive, however it has great features and capabilities for the price.
It is crucial to be aware of the limitations of the fridge. It has a small shelf space, which means you'll have to think creatively when storing tall items. The shelves aren't spillproof and can easily be damaged or stained by sharp items. It's simple to remove the refrigerator trays, but be sure to keep them clean to avoid the growth of mold.
If you're thinking of buying this refrigerator, make sure to check out our reviews of the GE Appliances French Door Refrigerator and the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
LG Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The LG LRFLC2706S counter-depth fridge is a great option for those who need a lot 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. Inside, the fridge features the standard French-door layout, with gallon-sized bins for the doors on each door as well as two rows of shelves for spill-capture and a set of more spacious drawers. The top right shelf can be folded down to give taller items more space. There's also a full-width drawer to store deli items and an internal water dispenser.
One of the great aspects of this refrigerator is that its ice maker is inside the freezer, making it easy to move the ice to the refrigerator to be used when it is needed. The freezer also features thoughtful design features, such as sliding drawers that allow you to organize your belongings. It comes with a large bin for storing frozen food and a separate bin for ice.
Another awesome feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. You can control the temperature, lighting, and other aspects of your fridge using your smartphone. It's a nice method of monitoring and managing your refrigerator, especially if you're away from home.
However, while the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it doesn't necessarily add to the overall performance of the refrigerator. In fact, it took longer to defrost and chill foods in this fridge than other refrigerators we test. This is likely due to the bigger capacity.
The doors pose a problem with this refrigerator. The sunken handles let shorter people open them from the bottom. However taller people have a hard time closing them without slamming. It would have been much better if they had a front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is an excellent option for those looking to blend the aesthetics of a French-door refrigerator with a more efficient design. Its capacity is above average for counter-depth models, and it cools evenly. It's also less expensive than the top counter-depth refrigerator that has an ice maker, which helps make it a desirable choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for a French door refrigerator that won't cost you a fortune, this Frigidaire is a great choice. It's a minimalist design that's not as visually striking as other models however it comes with enough features to make it a solid pick. Its most important feature, the adjustable temperature drawer, helps to keep food items like vegetables and meat fresher longer. It also comes with a huge water dispenser, as well as an excellent ice maker that operates quickly.
Another feature that is worth mentioning is the "Chill Drawer" that sits above the two crisper bins. french door fridge freezers lets you direct the majority of your fridge's cooling power into the area so that you can store foods that require extra attention. This feature is adjustable using a slider located outside the drawer. It is also possible to use this to adjust the general cooling settings for the whole fridge, but I've noticed that adjusting the general settings tends produce better results than specific ones.
In my tests, the refrigerator's temperatures were fairly constant across the different areas of the refrigerator. Temperatures at the top and bottom of the fridge did not vary much from 38 degrees, and the middle of the fridge was within a degree of 36. This is a good performance but does not quite make it to 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 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 blocks 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 over 15 years of experience in publishing and commerce mostly in retail and digital. Stephanie is passionate about finding the most effective products and recommending them to customers. She focuses on home goods and technology.