French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door fridges combine functionality and form. They feature stylish double doors that show a large fridge on top and a freezer drawer below. These refrigerators stand out because of their special features, like door-to-door dispensers and more expensive Ice makers.
We sought out experts like Ladina Schopf, interior designer and architect, as well as the founder of LS Projects, for tips on picking the right one. They evaluated the capacity of storage as well as layout and energy efficiency as well as other aspects.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
As its name suggests, GE’s Profile series is aimed at people who want to integrate cutting-edge features in their kitchens. This refrigerator has it all, from a Keurig K cup coffee maker on the door to a smart dispenser of water. But these flourishes don't mask mediocre performance, especially in the refrigerator's freezer and an ineffective temperature-controlled drawer. Given that this fridge costs a premium, I expect better.
This fridge is a great choice, despite the blip. It features a large freezer compartment that is not common for counter-depth French-door fridges. It also has a large capacity for frozen food items compared to 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 packed into the left door, but it isn't the largest I've seen.
You can adjust the shelves in both compartments to make the perfect storage solution. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS also looks attractive. The LED lighting is an appealing touch. The storage bins in the door include a third shelf that can be folded down to store large items. The drawers have temperature controls so that you can set them for Beverage, Meat, or Deli settings. The drawers are simple to open and shut, but I found the textured plastic coatings a bit hard on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator comes with the complete set 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 available for iOS and Android devices and lets you manage your refrigerator from anywhere around the world. It also offers numerous options for customizing. It also sends you notifications when the door is left unlocked, when the freezer or fridge must be defrosted and when the filter needs to be changed.
It would be nice if the GE PYE22PYNFS included Precise fill, an option available in a few other GE refrigerators that allows you to choose how many cups of water you'd like to pour out at once. It does offer a countdown on the display of the fridge to show how much water you have left, but it's not as effective as Precise Fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
It is designed to look like a seamless part 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 has a veggie compartment that keeps fruits and vegetables fresher for longer periods, and dual compressors to preserve food items. The Ice maker we tested is one of the most efficient, and it produces an ice pyramid with only a little water. This fridge is ideal for a small household or a kitchenette that wants an attractive design and top of the highest quality food preservation.
This refrigerator was the highest-rated refrigerator in our Refrigerators test, for several reasons. Its freezer temperatures held firm at just a few degrees Fahrenheit, never fluctuating by more than a fraction a degree--this is key to avoiding freezing burn. The refrigerator section of the refrigerator also performed well. It reached the initial temperature within an hour and remained at the temperature throughout our testing.
Bosch is known for its high-end appliances, so it's no surprise that this counter-depth refrigerator is also a smart appliance, with the option of connecting to your home Wi-Fi network and Bosch's Home Connect platform. This app allows you to monitor and control your fridge from your smartphone or tablet. The refrigerator is expensive, but it offers great features and capabilities for the cost.
While the fridge is a fantastic piece of equipment however, it is important to understand the limitations. It has a narrow shelf space, so you may require some creativity when it comes to storing large items. Additionally the shelves aren't completely sprillproof, and can easily be stained or damaged by sharp objects. It's simple to remove the trays from the fridge However, be sure to clean them frequently to prevent the growth of mold.
If you're thinking about buying this refrigerator, make sure to also read our reviews of 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 fridge is a great option for those who require lots of space within a small 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, with two rows of shelving with spill-capture and a set crisper drawers. The top right shelf can be folded down to give tall items more room. There's also a full-width drawer to store food items and an internal water dispenser.
This refrigerator is equipped with an ice maker making it simple to transfer frozen ice whenever you need it. The freezer also comes with clever design features, like sliding drawers that allow you to organize your belongings. It has a large bin to store frozen food items, and a separate container for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is a cool feature of the refrigerator. It allows you to manage the refrigerator's temperature and lighting from your smartphone. It's a simple way to monitor your refrigerator and control it, especially when you're not at home.
The Smart InstaView feature is neat however it doesn't improve the efficiency of the fridge. This fridge took longer to chill food and defrost it than the other fridges we tested. This is likely due to the larger capacity.
The doors pose a problem with this refrigerator. They have handles that are sunken at the front, which allows shorter people to easily pull them open from the bottom, however they're difficult for taller people to guide closed without slamming the doors. It would have been much better if they had a front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a ideal option for those looking to combine the benefits of a French-door fridge's aesthetics with an efficient layout. Its capacity is above average for a counter-depth model, and it cools well and has a nice layout. It's also less expensive than the top counter depth refrigerator that comes with an ice maker, making it an attractive choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for an French door fridge that doesn't cost you a fortune this Frigidaire is a good choice. It has a simple design that's not as striking in appearance as some of the competition however it comes with enough features that make it a great choice. Its most notable feature is 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 maker that operates quickly.
Another feature that is worth mentioning is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins. This drawer allows you to direct a portion of the fridge's cooling power into this area, so it can be used to store food items that require extra attention. You can alter this feature by using an adjustable slider that is located just outside of 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.
During my tests, the refrigerator's temperatures were fairly consistent across all areas of the fridge. The temperatures in the top, bottom and middle of the refrigerator did not differ significantly from 38 degrees. This is a great performance, but it doesn't quite make it into the top ten in our rankings.
reference 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 to get more precise measurements of the internal temperature of your fridge.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made of grey-bodied stainless with a "smudge proof" finish. It wards off streaks and fingerprints 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 as well as test-product reviews. She has more than 15 years of publishing and commerce experience, mostly in digital and retail. Stephanie is passionate about finding the top products and recommending them to customers. She focuses on home goods and technology.