French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door refrigerators are a perfect blend of design and function. They feature stylish double doors that reveal the large fridge on top and a freezer drawer below. These refrigerators stand out because of their special features, including through-the-door dispensers as well as 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 best one. They considered the capacity of storage, layout, and energy efficiency among other factors.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Like the name suggests, GE's Profile series targets those who want to incorporate cutting-edge technology in their kitchen. The refrigerator is brimming 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 and I expected more.
This refrigerator is a good choice, despite the small blip. It boasts a spacious freezer compartment, which is quite uncommon in counter-depth French door refrigerators. Furthermore, it holds a good amount of frozen foods compared to similar models.
Inside the fridge, there are 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment has 18.5 cubic feet, which is standard for a French-door fridge at this price. It has a decent-sized freezer in the left side. But, it's not the largest one I've seen.
You can alter the shelves in both compartments to make a custom storage solution. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is attractive. The LED lighting is an attractive touch. The in-door storage bins include a third shelf that can be folded down to store tall items. The drawers are equipped with temperature controls, so you can set them for Meat, Beverage, or Deli settings. They're easy to open and close, although I found their textured plastic coatings a bit hard on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator includes all the features you'd expect from a refrigerator within this price range. This includes Wi-Fi, app support and GE's SmartHQ Software. The app is available for iOS and Android devices and lets you control your refrigerator from any place around the world. It also comes with numerous options for customizing. It also gives you notifications when a door is left open, when the refrigerator or freezer needs defrosting and when it's time to change the filter.
It would be nice if GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill which is a feature that is available in a few GE refrigerators that allow users to set how many cups they want to pour out. The fridge shows a countdown to show you how much water is left, but it's not as helpful as Precise fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Designed to look like a seamless piece of your kitchen, Bosch's French-door refrigerator is a standout. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also has a vegetable compartment which keeps vegetables and fruits fresher for longer periods, and dual compressors to preserve food. The Ice maker we tested is one of the most efficient, and it produces the shape of a pyramid using only water. This fridge is perfect for a small household or a kitchenette that wants an attractive design and top of the best food preservation.
This refrigerator was the highest-rated refrigerator in our Refrigerators test, for various 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 preventing freezer burn. The fridge section of the fridge also performed well, reaching the desired initial set temperature within an hour and maintaining the temperature constant over the course of our testing.
Bosch is known for its high-end 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 and Bosch's Home Connect platform. The app lets you monitor and control the refrigerator remotely using your smartphone or tablet. The refrigerator is expensive, but it comes with great features and capabilities for the price.
french door fridge and freezer is crucial to be aware of the limitations of your fridge. You might need to be creative with tall items because the fridge has a small shelf space. Also the shelves aren't completely sprillproof, and can easily be stained or damaged by sharp objects. It's simple to remove the trays from the fridge However, be sure to clean them regularly to prevent the growth of mold.
If you're considering this refrigerator, make sure to check out our reviews of the French Door GE Appliances 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 a standard French door design, with two rows of shelving with spill-capture and a set of crisper drawers. The top right shelf can be folded down to give taller items more space. There's also a full-width storage drawer for food items and an internal water dispenser.
This refrigerator has a freezer with an ice maker making it easy to transfer the frozen ice whenever you need it. The freezer also features 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 one for ice.
Another awesome feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. It lets you control the temperature of your fridge and lighting via your smartphone. It's a nice method of monitoring and managing your refrigerator, especially if you're away from home.
The Smart InstaView feature is neat however it doesn't enhance the efficiency of the fridge. In fact it took a bit longer to defrost and chill food in this fridge than other refrigerators we test. This is likely due to the larger capacity.
The doors pose a problem with this refrigerator. The handles that are sunken let shorter people 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 had front-mounted handle.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a excellent choice for those who want to combine the benefits of a French-door fridge's aesthetics with a more efficient layout. Its capacity is superior for a counter-depth model, and it cools evenly and has a good layout. It's also a little less than the most expensive counter depth refrigerator that comes with an ice maker, which makes it a great choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for a French door refrigerator that won't break the bank this Frigidaire is a solid option. It's a basic fridge which may not be as attractive as its rivals, but it still has enough features to make it a good option. Its most notable feature is the adjustable temperature drawer helps to keep food items such as vegetables and meat fresher longer. It also comes with a huge water dispenser, as well as an excellent ice maker that operates quickly.
The "Chill Drawer", which is situated over the two crisper bins, is another great feature. This drawer allows you to use the majority of the fridge's cooling power into the area so that you can keep food items that require extra attention. This feature can be adjusted using an outside slider that is located inside the drawer. You can also adjust the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. I've found that the general settings work better than the specific ones.
During my tests, the temperatures of the refrigerator stayed fairly consistent across different 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 isn't quite at 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 to gain more precise information on the internal temperature of your fridge.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made of grey-bodied stainless that has a "smudge resistant" finish. It does a great job of removing streaks and fingerprints, even compared to glossier 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 guide and product reviews for test products. She has over 15 years of experience in publishing and commerce, primarily digital and retail. Stephanie is passionate about finding and recommending the best products for consumers, with a an emphasis on home products and tech.