French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door refrigerators are a perfect blend of functionality and form. They feature stylish double doors that show a large fridge on top and a freezer drawer beneath. Special features like through-the-door dispensers, ice machines with higher-end features and flex drawers that can be customized make them stand out from the rest.
We contacted Ladina Schopf - an interior designer, architect, and founder of LS Projects - for her tips on how to select the right home. They looked at the capacity of storage, layout, and energy efficiency, among other factors.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The name implies that the GE Profile series is geared towards consumers who want to incorporate cutting-edge features into their kitchen. This fridge is loaded with them, from an in-the-door Keurig K-cup coffee maker to a smart water dispenser. But these flourishes don't mask mediocre performance, especially in the refrigerator's freezer and an ineffective temperature-controlled drawer. This refrigerator is costly, so I expected better.
This fridge is a good option, despite the slight blip. It has a large freezer compartment, which is unusual for counter-depth French door fridges. It also holds plenty of frozen food, which is a big difference from other models.
The fridge comes with 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment is 18.5 cubic feet, which is the standard for a fridge with a French door at this price. It also has a decent-sized icemaker that is tucked away in the left door, though it's not the largest I've seen.
You can alter the shelves in both compartments for the perfect storage solution. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is also attractive. Its LED lighting is a nice touch and the inside storage bins have the third shelf, which can fold down to make it possible to store large items. The drawers come with temperature controls that allow you to 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 difficult on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator includes the full suite 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 compatible with iOS and Android devices and allows you to control your refrigerator from anywhere in the globe. It also offers numerous options for customizing. It also alerts you when a door is left open, when the refrigerator or freezer is in need of defrosting, and when it's time to change the filter.
It would be nice if GE PYE22PYNFS included Precise fill it's an option in other GE fridges that allow you to choose how many cups of water you'd like to pour out at a time. It does offer an indicator on the fridge's display to display how much water have left, but it's not as effective as Precise Fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Designed to look like a seamless part of your kitchen Bosch's French door refrigerator is one of a kind. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also has a veggie compartment that keeps fruits and vegetables fresher for longer and dual compressors to preserve food items. The ice maker we tested was one of the most efficient and makes the shape of a pyramid using only water. This fridge is ideal for a single family or kitchenette that needs an elegant design and top of the highest quality food preservation.
This fridge was rated as the top in our Refrigerators Test for several reasons. Its freezer temperatures remained constant at just above 0°F and never changed by more than a fraction, this is crucial to avoid freezing burn. The fridge section of the fridge also performed well, reaching the desired temperature for initial set within a matter of hours and keeping that temperature steady over the course of our tests.
Bosch is known for its top-quality appliances. Therefore, it's not a surprise that Bosch counter depth refrigerator is one of them. Bosch counter depth refrigerator can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's Home Connect. The app allows you to monitor and control your refrigerator remotely on your smartphone or tablet. The refrigerator is pricey however, it offers excellent features and functions at a reasonable price.
While the fridge is an incredible piece of equipment however, it is important to understand the limitations. It has a limited space for shelves, so you may have to think creatively when storing tall items. Also Frydge aren't sprillproof and can be easily stained or damaged by sharp objects. It is easy to take out the refrigerator trays However, be sure to keep them clean to avoid mold growth.
If you're considering this refrigerator, be sure to also review our opinions on the French Door GE Appliances Refrigerator as well as the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
LG Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The LG LRFLC2706S counter-depth refrigerator is a great option for those who need a lot 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 refrigerator has the standard French-door layout, with gallon-sized door bins on each door and two rows of spill-capture shelves and a set of more spacious drawers. The top shelf on the right side can be folded down to make space for taller items. You'll also find a full-width drawer for deli items and an internal water dispenser.
This refrigerator has a freezer with an ice maker making it easy to move the frozen ice as needed. The freezer has thoughtful design elements, as well, such as sliding drawers that help better organize the position of your items. It also has a huge bin that holds plenty of frozen food items and a separate container for storing ice.
Smart InstaView panel is another cool feature of the refrigerator. It lets you manage the refrigerator's temperature and lighting from your smartphone. It's a nice method of monitoring and managing your refrigerator, particularly if you're away from home.
The Smart InstaView feature is neat but it doesn't improve the efficiency of the fridge. In fact it took longer to defrost and chill foods in this fridge than other refrigerators we tried. This is probably due to its bigger capacity.
The other issue we have with this refrigerator is its doors. The handles with a sunken design allow shorter people to open them from the bottom. However taller people struggle to close them without slamming them. It would have been much better if these had front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is an excellent option for those who want to combine the look of a French door refrigerator with more efficient design. Its capacity is superior to counter-depth models and also cools evenly. It's also less expensive than the top counter-depth refrigerators that have an ice maker, which helps make it a popular choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for an French door fridge that doesn't cost a fortune, this Frigidaire is a solid option. It's a simple fridge that may not be as attractive as its rivals however, it does have enough features to make a suitable choice. Its most important feature is the adjustable temperature drawer that helps keep food items like veggies and meat fresher for longer. It also comes with a huge ice maker and a water dispenser.
Another nice feature is the "Chill Drawer" that sits above the two crisper bins. The drawer lets you redirect a portion of the refrigerator's cooling power into this area, so that you can store foods that require 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 found that the generic settings work better than the specific ones.
During my experiments, I noticed that the temperatures of the refrigerator were fairly consistent in various parts of the fridge. The temperatures in the middle, top and bottom of the refrigerator didn't vary significantly from 38 degrees. This is a solid performance, but it 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 get more accurate readings 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 wards off streaks and fingerprints better than other stainless steel finishes I've tested.
Stephanie Cronk is the executive editor on Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews team and oversees the site's buyer's guides and review of test products. She has more than 15 years of commerce and publishing experience, with a focus on retail and digital. Stephanie is passionate about finding and recommending the best products for consumers, with a particular focus on home items and technology.