French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
Melding form with function, French-door refrigerators come with stylish double doors that open to an enormous fridge on the top and a freezer drawer beneath. 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 consulted experts such as Ladina Schopf, interior designer architect, founder, and co-founder of LS Projects, for tips on picking the right one. They weighed storage capacity as well as layout and energy efficiency, among other aspects.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Like the name suggests, the GE Profile series is targeted at consumers who want to incorporate cutting-edge technologies into their kitchen. This fridge is loaded with them all from a Keurig K cup coffee maker in the door, to a clever dispenser of water. 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.
Other than that the fridge is a great option. It comes with a huge freezer compartment, which is uncommon in counter-depth French door refrigerators. Furthermore, it can hold a decent amount of frozen foods in comparison to similar models.
The fridge has 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment is 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is roughly on the same as an French door refrigerator that costs this much. It also has a decent-sized icemaker in the left door, though it's not the largest I've seen.
You can adjust the shelves in both compartments to create a the perfect storage solution. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is also attractive. The LED lighting adds an appealing accent. The in-door storage bins include a third shelf that can be folded down to store tall objects. The drawers have temperature controls that let you set them to Meat, Beverage or Deli settings. They're easy to open and close, however I found their plastic textured coatings to be a bit hard on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator is equipped with a full suite of features you'd expect from a refrigerator at this price that includes Wi-Fi as well as app support via GE's SmartHQ software. The app, available for iOS and Android devices allows you to control your fridge from anywhere in the world, and offers numerous options for customization. It will also send notifications when the door is left unlocked as well as when the freezer or fridge requires defrosting, and when the filter requires a change.
It would be great if GE PYE22PYNFS offered Precise fill the option that is found in a few GE refrigerators that allows users to select how many cups they want to pour out. The fridge shows a countdown to reveal how much water is left, but it's not as effective as Precise Fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Designed to look like a seamless piece of your kitchen Bosch's French-door refrigerator looks seamless and is an eye-catching piece. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also has a veggie compartment that keeps vegetables and fruits fresher for longer periods, and dual compressors to preserve food items. The ice maker we tested was one of the most efficient, and it produces an ice pyramid with only a little water. This fridge is the perfect choice for single household or kitchenettes that want a built-in look and top of the line food preservation.
This fridge was rated the top in our Refrigerators Test for several reasons. The temperature of the freezer remained constant at just above 0°F and never changed more than a tiny fraction - this is crucial to prevent freezer burn. The fridge's fridge section also performed well, reaching the temperature that was set for the initial setting within an hour and keeping that temperature steady throughout the course of our tests.
Bosch has a reputation for premium appliances, so 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. The app allows you to monitor and control the refrigerator remotely using your tablet or smartphone. The refrigerator is expensive, but it comes with top-quality features and functions for the price.
It's important to understand the limitations of your fridge. It has a limited shelf space, so you'll require some creativity when storing tall items. french door fridge and freezer aren't spillproof and can easily be stained or damaged by sharp items. It's simple to remove the refrigerator trays However, be sure to clean them regularly to prevent the growth of mold.
If you're considering this refrigerator, be sure to also 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 choice for those who need plenty of space in the space of a 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 a standard French-door layout with gallon-sized bins for the doors on each door, two rows of shelves that capture spills and a set of more spacious drawers. The top shelf to the right can be folded down to make space for taller items. There's also a full-width drawer for products from the deli and an inside water dispenser.
One of the best things about this refrigerator is that its ice maker is inside the freezer, making it easy to transfer ice into the fridge to use as needed. The freezer features thoughtful design elements, too, like sliding drawers that can help you better organize the placement of your items. It has a large bin for storing frozen food and a separate one for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is a cool feature of the refrigerator. You can manage the temperature, lighting, and more of your fridge from your smartphone. It's a simple method to keep track of your refrigerator and control 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 food in this fridge as compared to other fridges we test. This could be due to the greater capacity.
Another issue with the doors of this refrigerator. They have sunken handles on the front, which allow smaller people to pull them open from the bottom, however they're still difficult for taller people to steer shut without slamming them. It would have been much better if they had handles mounted on the front.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a ideal choice for those who want to combine the advantages of a fridge with a French door with an efficient layout. Its capacity is above average for counter-depth models, and it cools evenly. It's also a little less than the most expensive counter depth refrigerator 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 great choice. It's a simple fridge which may not be as eye-catching as some of its competitors however, it does have enough features to make it a an excellent choice. Its most significant feature, the temperature adjustable drawer, helps to keep food like vegetables and meat fresher for longer. It also has a large ice maker as well as 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 directly into this area, so you can keep food items that need extra attention. This feature can be adjusted by using an outside slider that is located inside 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 refrigerator's temperatures stayed fairly consistent across different areas of the fridge. Temperatures at the top and bottom of the fridge didn't stray much from 38 degrees, and even the middle of the fridge was within one degree of 36. This is a great performance but does not quite make it to 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 paired with a smart thermostat to obtain more precise readings of the internal temperature of your fridge.
The Frigidaire FGHB2866PF's outside is made of grey-bodied stainless steel that has a "smudge-proof" finish. It repels fingerprints and streaks better than other stainless steel finishes I've tried.
Stephanie Cronk is the executive editor of Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews team and oversees the site's buyer's guides as well as product reviews for test products. She has more than 15 years of publishing and commerce experience, with a focus on digital and retail. Stephanie is passionate about finding the best products and recommending them to consumers. She concentrates on home and technology.