French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door refrigerators are a perfect blend of functionality and form. They have stylish double doors that reveal an enormous fridge on top, and a freezer drawer beneath. These refrigerators stand out due to their distinctive features, like through-the-door dispensers and higher-end ice makers.
We contacted Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect and the founder of LS Projects - for her advice on how to choose the right one. They looked at the storage capacity, layout, and energy efficiency, among other aspects.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The name of the series suggests that GE’s Profile series is targeted at consumers who want to integrate cutting-edge features in their kitchen. The refrigerator is brimming with these, from an inside-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. The refrigerator is expensive and I was expecting better.
Apart from that minor flaw, this fridge is a fantastic choice. It boasts a spacious freezer compartment, which is uncommon in counter-depth French door fridges, and it holds a good amount of frozen foods as compared to similar models.
Inside the fridge, there are 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment offers 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is on par for a French door fridge costing this much. It also has a decent-sized icemaker packed into the left door, though it isn't the largest I've seen.
You can adjust the shelves in each compartment to create a customized storage arrangement for the items you need to keep. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is attractive, too. french door fridge and freezer is an attractive touch. The in-door storage bins include a third shelf that can be folded down to store tall objects. The drawers are equipped with temperature controls so that you can set them for Meat, Beverage, or Deli settings. The drawers are easy to shut and open however I found the plastic's textured coatings a bit hard on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator includes the complete set of features you'd expect from a refrigerator in this price range with Wi-Fi and app support through GE's SmartHQ software. The app is available for iOS and Android devices and allows you to manage your refrigerator from anywhere in the globe. It also comes with many options for customization. It will also send notifications when the door is left unlocked as well as when the freezer or fridge needs to be defrosted, and when the filter needs to be changed.
It is nice if the GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill, an option available in other GE fridges that allow you to preset how many cups of water you'd like to disperse at a time. It does have an indicator on the display of the fridge to display how much water have left, but it's not as effective as Precise fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Designed to look like a seamless part of your kitchen Bosch's French-door refrigerator looks seamless and is one of a kind. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also has a vegetable compartment to keep fruits and vegetables fresher longer, and two compressors for maximum preservation of food. The ice maker we tested was one of the most efficient and produces pyramid shaped ice using minimal water. This fridge is ideal for a small household or a kitchenette with an attractive design and top of the best food preservation.
This refrigerator was rated as the most efficient in our Refrigerators Test for several reasons. The freezer temperatures remained steady at just a few degrees Fahrenheit, and never fluctuating more than a fraction an inch. This is essential in preventing freezer burn. The fridge's fridge section also performed well, achieving the desired initial set temperature within an hour and keeping that temperature steady throughout the course of our tests.
Bosch has a reputation for premium appliances which is why it's no surprise that this counter-depth refrigerator is also a smart appliance with the option to connect to your home Wi-Fi network and Bosch's Home Connect platform. This app lets you monitor and manage your fridge remotely using your tablet or smartphone. The refrigerator is costly, but offers great features and functions at a reasonable price.
It's important to understand the limitations of your fridge. You might need to be inventive with tall items since the fridge is limited in shelf space. The shelves aren't spillproof and can easily be 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 you're thinking of buying this refrigerator, make sure you 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 option for those who need 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. Inside, the fridge has the standard French-door layout, with gallon-sized door bins at each door and two rows of spill-capture shelves and a set crisper drawers. The top shelf on the right side 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 is equipped with an ice maker making it easy to transfer the ice when needed. The freezer also has thoughtful design features, like sliding drawers that can help you organize your belongings. It comes with a large bin for storing frozen food, and a separate container for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is another awesome feature of the refrigerator. It lets you manage the refrigerator's temperature and lighting from your smartphone. It's a great way to control and monitor your refrigerator, especially if you're away from home.
However, while the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it does not necessarily enhance the overall performance of the refrigerator. The refrigerator took longer to chill food and defrost it than some others we tried. This is likely due to its bigger capacity.
The doors are another problem with this fridge. They have handles that are sunken on the front that allow shorter people to easily open them from the bottom, but they're still difficult for taller people to pull shut without slamming them. It would have been better if they had front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a excellent choice for those who want to combine the advantages of a French-door refrigerator's aesthetics with an efficient layout. It has a capacity that is above average for counter-depth models, and it cools evenly. 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
This Frigidaire French door refrigerator is a good option if you want a French-door refrigerator that doesn't cost a lot of budget. It's a basic refrigerator that might not be as eye-catching like some of its competitors however, it does have enough features to make a an excellent option. Its most significant feature, the temperature adjustable drawer, helps to keep food items like vegetables and meat fresher for longer. It also has a large ice maker and a water dispenser.
The "Chill Drawer", which is located over the two crisper bins, is a excellent feature. The drawer lets you use the majority of your fridge's cooling power into this area, so that you can store foods that require special attention. This feature can be adjusted by using a slider located outside 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 general settings tends to produce better results than specific ones.
In my tests, I discovered that the temperatures of the refrigerator were fairly consistent in different areas of the fridge. The temperatures in the top, bottom and middle of the refrigerator didn't vary much from 38 degrees. This is a pretty good performance however it doesn't rank among the best in 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 paired with a smart thermostat in order to get more accurate readings on the internal temperature of your fridge.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made from grey-bodied stainless with a "smudge resistant" finish. It is capable of preventing streaks and fingerprints from appearing, even compared to shiny stainless steel finishes on other appliances I've tried.
Stephanie Cronk, executive editor of Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews Team, oversees the site’s buyer’s guides and product test reviews. She has more than 15 years of publishing and commerce experience, with a focus on digital and retail. Stephanie is adamant about finding the top products and recommending them to consumers. She is particularly interested in home goods and technology.