French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
Melding form with function, French-door refrigerators come with stylish double doors that open up to a spacious fridge up top and freezer drawer below. Special features like through-the-door dispensers, high-end ice machines and adjustable flex drawers make them stand out from the crowd.
We asked experts like Ladina Schopf, interior designer and architect, as well as the founder of LS Projects, for tips on choosing the right model. We looked at storage capacity, layout and energy efficiency among other factors.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Like its name implies, the GE Profile series is aimed at those who wish to incorporate cutting-edge technology into their kitchen. This refrigerator is packed 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, so I expected better.
This refrigerator is a good option, despite the slight blip. It has a huge freezer compartment which is uncommon for counter-depth French-door refrigerators. It also holds a lot of frozen food compared to other models.
Inside the fridge, you'll find 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment has 18.5 cubic feet, which is the standard for a French-door fridge at this price. It has a decent-sized refrigerator with an ice maker in the left door. However, it's not the largest one I've seen.
You can alter the shelving in each compartment to create a customized storage arrangement for whatever you have to keep. The GE PYE22PYNFS's interior design is good-looking, too. The LED lighting is an appealing touch. The bins for storage inside include a third shelf that can be folded down to store tall items. The drawers include temperature controls that let you set them to Meat, Beverage or Deli settings. They're easy to open and close, but I found their textured plastic coatings a bit rough on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator comes with the complete set of features you'd expect from a fridge in this price range, including Wi-Fi and app support via GE's SmartHQ software. The app, available for iOS and Android devices can let you control your fridge from anywhere in the world, and it has numerous options for customization. It also alerts you when a door is left open, when the fridge or freezer needs to be defrosted and when it's time to change the filter.
It is nice if the GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill, an option available in a few other GE refrigerators that allows you to set the number of cups of water you'd like to dispense at once. The fridge displays a countdown to reveal how much water remains but it's not as helpful as Precise fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Created to appear as a seamless element 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 features a veggie compartment that keeps fruits and vegetables fresher for longer, and dual compressors to preserve food items. The ice maker is one of the most efficient we've ever tested, and it produces a pyramid-shaped form of ice with a low water consumption. This refrigerator is the ideal option for a single family or kitchenettes who want a sleek design and top-of-the-line food preservation.
This fridge was the top-rated refrigerator in our Refrigerators test, for a few reasons. The freezer temperatures remained steady at just a few degrees Fahrenheit and never changing more than a fraction one degree. This is crucial in preventing freezing burn. The fridge's refrigerator section also performed well, reaching the desired initial set temperature within a matter of hours and keeping the temperature constant over the course of our testing.
Bosch is a household name known for its top-quality appliances. Therefore, it's not a surprise that Bosch's counter depth fridge Bosch counter depth fridge can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's Home Connect. The app lets you monitor and control your fridge from your smartphone or tablet. The refrigerator is pricey however, it offers excellent features and functionality at a reasonable price.
french door fridge and freezer is crucial to be aware of the limitations of the fridge. It has a small space for shelves, so you'll have to think creatively when it comes to storing large items. Also the shelves aren't completely sprillproof, and can easily be damaged or stained by sharp objects. The trays are easily removed from the fridge. However, they must be cleaned regularly to prevent the growth of mold.
If you're thinking about buying this refrigerator, be sure to 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 is a great counter-depth refrigerator that packs a lot of storage space into an extremely compact frame. It has a sleek, fingerprint-resistant stainless-steel finish and features thick handles that make them comfortable to grip. The fridge is built with the standard French door design, and two rows of shelves that can be used to capture spills and a set of crisper drawers. The top right shelf can be folded down to give tall items more room. There's also a full-width storage drawer for deli items and an internal water dispenser.
One of the best aspects of this refrigerator is that the ice maker is in the freezer, which makes it easy to transfer ice into the fridge to use as needed. The freezer features thoughtful design elements, too, like sliding drawers that help better organize the placement of your items. It also comes with a large bin that can accommodate plenty of frozen food items and an container for storing ice.
Smart InstaView panel is a cool feature of the refrigerator. You can control the temperature, lighting and other aspects of your refrigerator from your smartphone. It's an easy way to monitor your fridge and manage it, particularly when you're not at home.
Although the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it does not necessarily improve the overall performance of the refrigerator. In fact, it took longer to defrost and chill foods in this refrigerator than some of the others we tried. This is probably due to its bigger capacity.
Another issue with this refrigerator is its doors. The sunken handles allow smaller people to open them from the bottom. However, taller people still have a hard time closing them without slamming them. It would have been better if they had a front-mounted handle.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a excellent choice for those who want to combine the advantages of a fridge with a French door 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 bit cheaper than the most expensive counter depth refrigerator that comes with an ice maker, making it an attractive option.
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. french style fridge freezer 's a basic fridge that might not be as attractive as its rivals however, it does have enough features to make it a good option. Its most notable feature is the temperature adjustable drawer, which helps keep foods like meat and vegetables fresher for longer. It also has a large ice maker and a water dispenser.
Another feature that is worth mentioning is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins. The drawer allows you to divert part of the fridge's cooling power directly to this area, meaning you can put away food items that require extra attention. This feature can be adjusted using a slider located outside the drawer. You can also alter the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. french door fridge freezers have found that the general settings are more effective than the specific ones.
In my tests, I discovered that the temperatures of the refrigerator were fairly consistent across various parts of the refrigerator. Temperatures at the top and bottom of the fridge didn't vary significantly from 38 degrees, and even the middle of the fridge was within one degree of 36. This is a great 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 paired with a smart thermostat to obtain more precise readings of the internal temperature of your fridge.
The Frigidaire FGHB2866PF's exterior is made of grey-bodied stainless steel which has a "smudge-proof" 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 over 15 years of experience in publishing and commerce including retail and digital. Stephanie is passionate about finding the most effective products and recommending them to consumers. She focuses on home goods and technology.