French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door fridges combine functionality and form. They have stylish double doors that reveal the large fridge on top, and a freezer drawer beneath. These refrigerators stand out because of their special features, such as through-the-door dispensers and higher-end ice makers.
We consulted Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect, and founder of LS Projects - for her tips on how to select the right home. They considered the storage capacity, layout, and energy efficiency among other features.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Like its name implies, GE’s Profile series is targeted at people 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 sophisticated 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, so I expected better.
Aside from that blip, this fridge is a great option. It boasts a spacious freezer compartment, which is uncommon in counter-depth French door refrigerators. Furthermore, it can hold a decent amount of frozen foods compared to similar models.
Inside the fridge, there are 17 shelves and compartments. The refrigerator compartment is 18.5 cubic feet, which is typical for a French-door fridge at this price. It also has a decent sized ice maker packed into the left-hand door, although it's not the largest I've seen.
You can adjust the shelves in both compartments to make the perfect storage solution. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is stylish, too. Its LED lighting is a nice feature and the storage bins feature a third shelf that can fold down to allow you to store large items. The drawers have temperature controls that allow you to set them to Meat, Beverage or Deli settings. The drawers are easy to open and close, but I found the textured plastic coatings to be a bit rough on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator has all the features you would expect from a refrigerator in 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 refrigerator from anywhere in the world, and offers numerous options for customization. It also alerts you 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 nice if GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill which is an option that is available in a handful of other GE fridges that allows you to preset how many cups of water you'd like to disperse simultaneously. The fridge shows a countdown to display how much water remains however 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 look 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 vegetable compartment that keeps fruits and vegetables fresher for longer periods, and dual compressors to preserve food. The ice maker is one of the best we've ever tested and produces pyramid-shaped ice with a low water consumption. This fridge is the perfect option for households with a single member or kitchenettes who want an integrated look 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 freezer temperatures remained steady at just above 0 degrees Fahrenheit and never changing more than a fraction one degree. This is crucial to preventing freezing burn. The fridge's refrigerator section also performed well, achieving the desired initial set temperature within a matter of hours and keeping the temperature constant over the course of our testing.
Bosch is a household name for its high-end appliances. It's therefore no surprise that Bosch counter depth refrigerator is one of them. Bosch counter depth refrigerator can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's platform Home Connect. This app lets you monitor and control your refrigerator remotely on your smartphone or tablet. The fridge is expensive, however it has excellent features and functionality for the price.
It is crucial to be aware of the limitations of the fridge. It is possible to be inventive with tall items since the fridge has a small shelf space. The shelves are not impervious to spills and could easily be stained or damaged by sharp items. The trays are easily removed from the fridge. However, they must be cleaned frequently to stop the growth of mold.
If you are considering this refrigerator, you should also check out our review of the GE Appliances French Door Refrigerator and the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
LG Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The LG LRFLC2706S is a top counter-depth refrigerator that packs a lot of storage into a compact frame. It has a sleek, fingerprint-resistant stainless-steel finish and features thick handles that make them comfortable to grip. The fridge features the standard French door design, with two rows of shelves that can be used to capture spills and a set crisper drawers. The top shelf on the right can be folded down to give taller items more room. There's also a full-width drawer for food items and an internal water dispenser.
The refrigerator comes with an ice maker making it easy to transfer the frozen ice as needed. The freezer features thoughtful design elements, as well, such as sliding drawers to help you better organize the placement of your items. french door fridge freezers has a large bin that can hold plenty of frozen food and a separate storage bin for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is another cool feature of the refrigerator. You can control the temperature, lighting and more of your fridge from your smartphone. It's a nice method of monitoring and managing your refrigerator, especially when you're away from home.
But while the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it doesn't improve the overall performance of the refrigerator. In fact it took a bit longer to defrost and chill food in this refrigerator than other refrigerators we tested. This could be due to the bigger capacity.
The doors are a different issue with this refrigerator. The handles with a sunken design allow shorter people to open them from the bottom. However taller people will have a difficult time closing them without slamming them. It would have been better if they came with a front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a good option for those looking to combine the benefits of a French-door refrigerator's aesthetics with a more efficient layout. It has a capacity that is higher than average for counter-depth models, and it cools evenly. It's also a bit cheaper than the best counter depth refrigerator that comes with an ice maker, which makes it an attractive choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for a French door fridge that doesn't cost you a fortune this Frigidaire is a good choice. It's a basic refrigerator that may not be as eye-catching as some of its competitors however, it does have enough features to make a an excellent choice. Its most significant feature, the adjustable temperature drawer, helps to keep food items like vegetables and meat fresher longer. It also has a large water dispenser, as well as an excellent ice maker that operates quickly.
Another feature that is worth mentioning is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins. This drawer lets you direct the majority of the refrigerator's cooling power into this area, so that you can store foods that require extra attention. This feature can be adjusted by using a slider on the outside of the drawer. You can also set the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. I have found that the general settings are more effective than the specific ones.
In my experiments, I noticed that the temperatures in the refrigerator were fairly consistent across various parts of the refrigerator. The temperatures in the middle, top and bottom of the refrigerator didn't vary significantly 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 a smart thermometer for more precise readings of your fridge's temperature.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made of gray-bodied stainless with a "smudge proof" finish. It does an excellent job of preventing streaks and fingerprints from appearing even when compared with shiny stainless steel finishes on other appliances I've tested.
Stephanie Cronk is the executive editor on Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews team and oversees the site's buyer's guides and test-product reviews. She has over 15 years of experience in publishing and commerce including retail and digital. Stephanie is adamant about finding the top products and recommending them to customers. She focuses on home goods and technology.