French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
Combining form and function, French-door refrigerators come with elegant double doors that open to a spacious fridge up top and freezer drawer below. Special features such as through-the-door dispensers, ice machines with higher-end features, 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 choosing the right model. They evaluated the capacity of storage, layout, energy efficiency, and other features.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Like the name suggests, the GE Profile series is geared towards those who want to incorporate cutting-edge technologies in their kitchen. This fridge is loaded with features, from an in-the-door Keurig K-cup coffee maker to a smart water dispenser. But these flourishes don't mask mediocre performance, especially in the refrigerator's freezer and an ineffective temperature-controlled drawer. This fridge is expensive and I expected more.
This fridge is a great choice, despite the small blip. It comes with a huge freezer compartment, which is uncommon in counter-depth French door refrigerators. Additionally, it can hold a decent amount of frozen food as compared to similar models.
The fridge is equipped with 17 shelves and compartments. french style fridge freezer has 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is about the same as the size of a French door refrigerator that costs this much. It also has a decent-sized icemaker in the left-hand door, although it isn't the largest I've seen.
You can adjust the shelves in both compartments to make an individual storage solution. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is also attractive. The LED lighting is an attractive feature. The in-door storage bins include a third shelf that can be folded down to store tall items. The drawers come with temperature controls so that you can set them to Beverage, Meat or Deli settings. They're easy to open and close, however I found their plastic textured coatings to be a little rough on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator comes with all the features you'd expect from a refrigerator within this price range. It has Wi-Fi as well as app support and GE's SmartHQ Software. The app, which is available for iOS and Android devices, lets you control your fridge from anywhere in the world, and has a ton of customization options. french door fridge freezer sends you notifications when doors are left open, when the refrigerator or freezer is in need of defrosting, and when it's time to change the filter.
It would be great if GE PYE22PYNFS offered Precise fill which is a feature found in a few GE refrigerators that allow users to select the number of cups they would like to pour out. The fridge displays a countdown timer to reveal how much water remains but it's not as effective as Precise Fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The Bosch French-door Refrigerator is an impressive product. It's designed to appear like a seamless piece in your kitchen. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also has a veggie compartment that keeps fruits and vegetables fresher for longer, and dual compressors to preserve food items. The Ice maker we tested is one of the most efficient, and it produces pyramid shaped ice using minimal water. This refrigerator is the ideal option for households with a single member or kitchenettes looking for an integrated look and top of the line food preservation.
This fridge was rated the top 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 freezer burn. The fridge section of the fridge also performed well, reaching the temperature that was set for the initial setting within a matter of hours and keeping that temperature steady over the course of our testing.
Bosch is a household name for its high-end appliances. It's therefore no surprise that Bosch's counter depth fridge Bosch counter depth fridge can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's platform Home Connect. This app allows you to control and monitor your refrigerator remotely from your tablet or smartphone. The refrigerator is expensive, however it has great features and capabilities for the cost.
While the fridge is an incredible appliance but it's important to be aware of the limitations. It is possible to be inventive with tall items since the fridge has a limited shelf space. The shelves are not resistant to spills and are easily stained or damaged by sharp objects. The trays are easily removed from the fridge. However, they must be cleaned regularly to prevent the growth of mold.
If you're considering this refrigerator, make sure to also read our reviews of the French Door GE Appliances 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 require lots of space within 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 design, with two rows of shelves that can be used to capture spills and a set crisper drawers. The upper right shelf can be folded down to give tall items more room. You'll also find a full-width drawer for deli and an inside water dispenser.
One of the great things about this refrigerator is that the Ice maker is located in the freezer, making it easy to transfer frozen ice to the fridge for use when required. The freezer also features clever design features, like sliding drawers that can help you sort your things. It has a large bin for storing frozen food and a separate one for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is another cool feature of the refrigerator. It allows you to control the temperature of your fridge as well as lighting from your smartphone. It's a simple way to keep track of your refrigerator and manage it, particularly when you're away from home.
The Smart InstaView feature is neat but it doesn't enhance the performance of the fridge. In fact it took 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 another problem with this fridge. The handles with a sunken design allow smaller people to open them from the bottom. However taller people will struggle to close them without slamming them. It would have been better if they had front-mounted handle.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a excellent option for those looking to combine the advantages of a fridge with a French door with an efficient layout. It has a capacity that is above average for counter-depth models, and it cools evenly. It's also less expensive than the top counter depth refrigerator with an ice maker, which makes it a great choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for an French door refrigerator that won't cost a fortune this Frigidaire is a solid option. It's a simple fridge that may not be as eye-catching like some of its competitors, but it still has enough features to make a good choice. Its most notable feature is the temperature adjustable drawer, helps to keep food items such as vegetables and meat fresher for longer. It also comes with a huge ice maker and a water dispenser.
The "Chill Drawer", which is located over the two crisper bins, is a nice feature. This drawer lets you redirect some of the refrigerator's cooling power to this area so it can be used to store food items which need extra attention. This feature is adjustable using a slider on the outside of the drawer. You can also adjust the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. I have found that the general settings work better than the specific ones.
During my tests, the refrigerator's temperatures were fairly consistent across all areas of the refrigerator. The temperatures in the top, bottom and middle of the refrigerator didn't vary much from 38 degrees. This is a good performance, but 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 pair this fridge with an intelligent thermometer to get more precise readings of your fridge's internal temperature.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made from grey-bodied stainless that has a "smudge proof" finish. It wards off streaks and fingerprints better than other stainless steel finishes I've tried.
Stephanie Cronk is the executive editor on Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews team and oversees the site's buyer's guides as well as review of test products. She has more than 15 years of experience in commerce and publishing including retail and digital. Stephanie is passionate about finding the top products and recommending them to customers. She focuses on home goods and technology.