French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door fridges combine design and function. They have stylish double doors that show a large fridge on top and a freezer drawer below. Special features such as through-the-door dispensers, higher-end ice machines, and customizable flex drawers make them stand out from the crowd.
We consulted Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect and founder of LS Projects - for her advice on how to choose the right home. They weighed storage capacity, layout, energy efficiency, and other aspects.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
As the name suggests, the GE Profile series targets the consumer who wants to incorporate cutting-edge technologies in their kitchen. This fridge has them all including the Keurig K cup coffee maker inside the door to a smart dispenser of water. But these flourishes don't mask mediocre performance, especially in the refrigerator's freezer and an ineffective temperature-controlled drawer. Given that this fridge costs more, I'd expect higher quality.
This fridge is a great choice, despite the small blip. Frydge UK boasts a spacious freezer compartment, which is uncommon in counter-depth French door refrigerators. Furthermore, it holds a good amount of frozen food when in comparison to similar models.
Inside the fridge, you'll find 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment is 18.5 cubic feet, which is the standard for a French-door fridge at this price. It comes with a decent size icemaker in the left door. However, it's not the largest one I've seen.
You can alter the shelves in both compartments to create a custom storage setup for whatever you have to keep. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is also attractive. The LED lighting is a nice addition and the storage bins feature the third shelf, which can fold down to allow you to store large items. The drawers have temperature controls so you can set them for Meat, Beverage, or Deli settings. The drawers are easy to open and shut, but I found the textured plastic coatings a bit hard on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator is equipped with a complete set of features you'd expect from a refrigerator in this price range that includes Wi-Fi as well as 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 across the globe. It also has many options for customization. It will also send notifications when the door is unlocked and when the freezer or fridge needs to be defrosted, and when the filter needs to be changed.
It would be great it GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill which is a feature available in a handful of GE refrigerators that allows users to choose the amount of cups they wish to pour out. It does offer an indicator on the display of the fridge to display how much water you have remaining, but that's not as effective 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 of your kitchen. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also has a veggie compartment which keeps vegetables and fruits fresher for longer and two compressors for preserving food items. The ice maker is one of the top we've tested and produces pyramid-shaped ice with a low use of water. This fridge is the perfect option for a single family or kitchenettes that want a sleek design and top-of-the-line food preservation.
This fridge was rated the most efficient in our Refrigerators Test for several reasons. Its freezer temperatures held firm at just above 0 degrees Fahrenheit, and never moving more than a fraction of one degree. This is crucial to avoiding freezer burn. The fridge's fridge section also performed well, reaching the desired temperature for initial set within a matter of hours and keeping the temperature constant over the course of our tests.
Bosch is known for its top-of-the-line appliances, so it's no surprise that this counter-depth refrigerator is also a smart appliance with the option of connecting 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 fridge is expensive, however it has excellent features and functionality for the cost.
While the fridge is a fantastic piece of equipment however, it is important to understand the limitations. You may need to get creative with tall items because the fridge has a limited shelf space. The shelves aren't impervious to spills and could easily be stained or damaged by sharp objects. It's easy to remove the refrigerator trays However, be sure to clean them frequently to prevent mold growth.
If you're thinking of buying this refrigerator, make sure to read our reviews of the GE Appliances French Door Refrigerator as well as 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 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 features a standard French door layout, with two rows of shelves that can be used to capture spills and a set of crisper drawers. The top shelf on the right can be folded in order to create more space for taller items. You'll also find a full-width deli drawer and an internal water dispenser.
The refrigerator comes with an ice maker making it easy to move the frozen ice whenever you need it. The freezer features thoughtful design elements, for instance, sliding drawers that can help you better organize the position of items. It has a large bin to store frozen food items, and a separate container for ice.
Another cool feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. It allows you to manage the refrigerator's temperature and lighting via your smartphone. It's a great way to control and monitor your refrigerator, especially when you're away from home.
Although the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it does not necessarily enhance the overall performance of the refrigerator. The fridge took a bit longer to defrost food and chill it than the other fridges we test. This is probably due to its greater capacity.
The other issue we have with this refrigerator is its doors. The handles that are sunken allow smaller people to open them from the bottom. However taller people have a difficult time closing them without slamming. It would have been better to have front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is an excellent choice for those looking to blend the look of a French door refrigerator with an efficient design. It has a capacity that is superior to counter-depth models, and it cools evenly. It's also less expensive than the top counter-depth refrigerators that have an ice maker, which can make it an attractive option.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for a French door fridge that doesn't break the bank, this Frigidaire is a solid option. It's a simple fridge that might not be as attractive as its rivals, but it still has enough features to make it a good choice. Its most important feature, the adjustable temperature drawer, helps to keep food items such as vegetables and meat fresher longer. It also has a large ice maker as well as a water dispenser.
The "Chill Drawer", which is situated over the two crisper bins, is another nice feature. This drawer lets you direct a portion of the fridge's cooling power into this area so that you can keep food items which need extra attention. You can adjust the feature using an adjustable slider that is located just in the middle of the drawer. You can also set the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. I've noticed that the general settings are more effective than the specific ones.
In my tests, the temperatures of the refrigerator were fairly constant across the different areas of the fridge. The temperatures in the top, bottom and middle of the fridge didn't differ significantly from 38 degrees. That's a good performance, but it doesn't quite be among the top in 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. This fridge can be connected with a smart thermostat to gain more precise information on the internal temperature of your fridge.
The Frigidaire FGHB2866PF's exterior is made of stainless steel with a grey body that has a "smudge-proof" finish. It repels fingerprints and streaks better than other stainless steel finishes I've seen.
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 experience in publishing and commerce, primarily digital and retail. Stephanie is passionate about finding the most effective products and recommending them to customers. She focuses on home goods and technology.