French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door refrigerators blend design and function. They have stylish double doors that show an enormous fridge on top, and a freezer drawer below. Special features like door-to-door dispensers, ice machines with higher-end features and flex drawers that can be customized make them stand out from the crowd.
We asked Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect and founder of LS Projects - for her suggestions on how to pick the right one. They weighed storage capacity as well as layout and energy efficiency, among other features.
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 features into their kitchen. The refrigerator is brimming with them, from an in-the-door Keurig K-cup coffee maker to a clever 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 expected more.
Apart from that minor flaw however, this refrigerator is a fantastic choice. It has a large freezer compartment which is uncommon for counter-depth French door fridges. It also has a large capacity for frozen food, which is a big difference from other models.
The fridge is equipped with 17 shelves and compartments. The refrigerator compartment has 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is on par for an French door refrigerator that costs this much. It also has a decent-sized icemaker in the left-hand door, although it isn't the largest 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 feature. The bins for storage inside come with a third shelf that can be folded down to store tall objects. The drawers are equipped with temperature controls, so you can set them to Meat, Beverage or Deli settings. They're easy to open and close, although I found their textured plastic coatings to be a bit hard on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator includes all the features you'd expect from a refrigerator in this price range. This includes Wi-Fi, app support and GE's SmartHQ Software. The app, available for iOS and Android devices allows you to control your fridge from anywhere in world, and offers a ton of customization options. It also sends you notifications when the door is left unlocked and when the freezer or fridge needs to be defrosted, and when the filter needs to be changed.
It would be nice to have GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill, an option that is available in a few GE refrigerators that allows users to choose the number of cups they would like to dispense. The fridge shows a countdown to reveal how much water is left, but it's not as helpful as Precise fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
It is designed to look like a seamless piece of your kitchen Bosch's French-door refrigerator looks seamless and is a standout. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also has a vegetable compartment that keeps vegetables and fruits fresher for longer, and two compressors for preserving food items. The Ice maker we tested is one of the most efficient and produces pyramid shaped ice using minimal water. This refrigerator is ideal for a small household or a kitchenette that wants an elegant design and top of the line food preservation.
The fridge was rated the best refrigerator in our Refrigerators test for several reasons. The freezer temperatures remained steady at just a few degrees Fahrenheit, never moving more than a fraction of one degree. This is crucial to avoiding freezing burn. The fridge section of the fridge also performed well. It reached the initial temperature set within a matter of hours, and remained at the temperature throughout our tests.
Bosch has a reputation for high-end 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 as well as Bosch's Home Connect platform. This app allows you to monitor and control your fridge from your smartphone or tablet. The refrigerator is costly, but offers great features and capabilities at a reasonable cost.
It is crucial to be aware of the limitations of your fridge. You may need to get creative with tall items because the fridge has a small shelf space. Additionally, the shelves are not sprillproof and can be easily stained or damaged by sharp objects. The trays can be easily removed from the fridge. However, french door fridge freezers must be cleaned regularly to prevent the growth of mold.
If you're thinking of buying this refrigerator, make sure to also review our opinions on the French Door GE Appliances Refrigerator as well as the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
french door fridge freezer LRFLC2706S counter-depth fridge is a great option for those who require 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 features a standard French-door layout with gallon-sized door bins on each door and two rows of shelves that capture spills and a set crisper drawers. The top shelf on the right side can be folded down to make space for taller items. There's also a full-width drawer for deli items and an internal water dispenser.
The refrigerator comes with an ice maker, making it simple to transfer frozen ice whenever you need it. The freezer also has thoughtful design features, such as sliding drawers that help you organize your items. It also has a large container for storing frozen food and a separate one for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is another cool feature of the refrigerator. It allows you to manage the refrigerator's temperature, lighting, and more from your smartphone. It's a good way to monitor and manage your refrigerator, especially 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 a bit longer to defrost and chill food in this fridge than some of the others we test. This is probably due to its bigger capacity.
The doors are a different issue with this fridge. 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 much better if they came with a front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a good choice for those who want to combine the advantages of a French-door fridge's aesthetics with an efficient layout. Its capacity is superior for a counter-depth model and it cools evenly and has a good layout. It's also less expensive than the best counter depth refrigerator with an ice maker, which makes it a desirable option.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for an French door refrigerator that won't cost a fortune and isn't expensive, this Frigidaire is a solid option. It has a simple design that isn't as striking visually as some of the competition however it comes with enough features to make it a good choice. Its most important feature, the adjustable temperature drawer, helps to keep food items such as meat and vegetables fresher for longer. It also has a large water dispenser, as well as an excellent ice machine that works fast.
The "Chill Drawer", which is situated above the two crisper bins, is another excellent feature. This drawer lets you redirect part of the fridge's cooling power directly to this area, so you can store foods that require special attention. This feature is adjustable using a slider located outside the drawer. You can also adjust the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. I have found that the generic settings work better than the specific ones.
In my tests, I discovered that the temperatures of the refrigerator were fairly consistent across various parts of the fridge. The temperatures in the top, bottom and middle of the fridge didn't differ much from 38 degrees. This is a great performance but doesn't 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. You can also connect this fridge to a smart thermometer for more precise readings of your fridge's internal temperature.
The Frigidaire FGHB2866PF's exterior is constructed of stainless steel with a grey-bodied body which 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 on Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews team and oversees the site's buyer's guides and product reviews for test products. She has more than 15 years of experience in commerce and publishing, primarily digital and retail. Stephanie is passionate about finding the best products and recommending them to customers. She is particularly interested in home goods and technology.