French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door refrigerators blend functionality and form. They have elegant double doors that open to reveal the large fridge on top and a freezer drawer below. Special features like door-to-door dispensers, high-end ice machines, and customizable flex drawers make them stand out from the rest.
We contacted Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect, and the founder of LS Projects - for her suggestions on how to pick the best one. We looked at the storage capacity, layout, and energy efficiency among other features.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The name of the series suggests that GE’s Profile series is aimed at those who wish to incorporate cutting-edge technology into their kitchens. This fridge is loaded with features, 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. This fridge is expensive, so I expected better.
This fridge is a good option, despite the slight blip. It comes with a huge freezer compartment, which is quite uncommon in counter-depth French door refrigerators. Furthermore, it holds a fair amount of frozen food when in comparison to similar models.
The fridge has 17 shelves and compartments. The refrigerator compartment has 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is roughly on what you would expect from a French door fridge costing this much. It has a decent-sized icemaker in the left door. But it's not the biggest one I've seen.
You can alter the shelves in both compartments to create a a custom storage solution. The GE PYE22PYNFS's design for the interior is attractive, too. The LED lighting is a nice feature and the storage bins have a third shelf that can fold down to make it possible to store items that are tall. The drawers come with temperature controls so that you can set them to Meat, Beverage, or Deli settings. They're easy to open and close, although I found their plastic textured coatings to be a bit hard on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator comes with 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 allows you to control your refrigerator from anywhere in the globe. It also has a lot of customization options. It will also send you notifications when the door is unlocked and when the fridge or freezer needs to be defrosted, and when the filter needs to be changed.
It would be nice if the GE PYE22PYNFS included Precise fill which is an option that is available in other GE fridges that allow you to set the number of cups of water you'd like to disperse at once. The fridge displays a countdown timer to reveal how much water remains but it's not as helpful 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 part 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 vegetables and fruits fresher for longer periods, and two compressors to preserve food. The ice maker is one of the best we've ever tested and produces pyramid-shaped Ice with low use of water. french door fridge freezers is the perfect choice for single household or kitchenettes looking for a sleek design and top-of-the-line food preservation.
This refrigerator was the highest-rated refrigerator in our Refrigerators test, for a few reasons. The temperature of the freezer remained stable at just a few degrees Fahrenheit, never fluctuating more than a fraction one degree. This is crucial in preventing freezing burn. The fridge section of the refrigerator also did well. It reached the temperature it was set within a matter of hours, and remained at that temperature throughout our testing.
Bosch has a reputation for premium appliances and appliances, so it's not a surprise that this counter depth refrigerator is also a smart appliance that has the option of connecting to your home Wi-Fi and Bosch's Home Connect platform. This app allows you to monitor and manage your fridge remotely using your smartphone or tablet. The fridge is a bit 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 creative with tall objects because the fridge has a small shelf space. Also the shelves aren't sprillproof and can be easily damaged or stained by sharp objects. The trays are easily removed from the fridge. However, they should be cleaned frequently to stop the growth of mold.
If you are thinking about this refrigerator, be sure to check out our review of the French Door GE Appliances Refrigerator and the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
LG Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The LG LRFLC2706S is a great counter-depth refrigerator that packs a lot of storage into the frame's compact size. It has a sleek, fingerprint-resistant stainless-steel finish and features thick handles that make them comfortable to grip. Inside, the fridge features the standard French-door layout, with gallon-sized bins for the doors on each door as well as two rows of shelves that capture spills and a set more spacious drawers. The upper right shelf can be folded down to give taller items more headroom. There's also a full-width drawer to store products from the deli and an inside water dispenser.
One of the best aspects of this refrigerator is that its Ice maker is located in the freezer, making it simple to move the ice to the refrigerator to be used when it is needed. The freezer also has innovative design features like sliding drawers that can help you organize your belongings. It comes with a large bin to store frozen food items, and a separate container for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is another awesome feature of the refrigerator. You can control the temperature, lighting, and other aspects of your fridge using your smartphone. It's a great way to monitor and manage your refrigerator, particularly if you're away from home.
But while the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it doesn't necessarily enhance the overall performance of the refrigerator. In fact it took a bit longer to defrost and chill food in this refrigerator as compared to other fridges we test. This could be due to the larger capacity.
The other issue we have with the door of this refrigerator. The sunken handles allow smaller people to open them from the bottom. However taller people have a difficult time closing them without slamming. It would have been much better if they had front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is an excellent option for those looking to blend the look of a French door refrigerator with a more efficient design. Its capacity is superior for a counter-depth model and it cools evenly and has a great layout. It's also a little cheaper than the best counter-depth refrigerators that have an ice maker, which can make it an attractive option.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
This Frigidaire French door refrigerator is a good option for those looking for a French-door fridge that won't break the budget. It's a basic refrigerator that might not be as eye-catching as some of its competitors however it has enough features to make a good choice. Its most significant feature, 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 machine that works fast.
Another feature that is worth mentioning is the "Chill Drawer" that sits above the two crisper bins. The drawer allows you to divert part of the fridge's cooling power directly to this area, meaning you can keep food items that require special attention. You can adjust this feature by using an adjustable slider that is located just in the middle of the drawer. It is also possible to use this to adjust the general cooling settings for the entire fridge, though I've found that adjusting the general settings tends produce better results than specific ones.
During my experiments, I noticed that the temperatures in the refrigerator were fairly consistent across different parts of the fridge. The temperatures in the top, bottom and middle of the refrigerator didn't vary 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 combine this fridge with a smart thermometer for more precise measurements of your fridge's temperature.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made from grey-bodied stainless that has a "smudge resistant" finish. It repels fingerprints and streaks better than other stainless steel finishes I've tested.
Stephanie Cronk is the executive editor of Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews team and oversees the site's buyer's guides as well as test-product reviews. She has over 15 years of experience in publishing and commerce, primarily digital and retail. Stephanie is adamant about finding the best products and recommending them to consumers. She concentrates on home and technology.