French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door fridges combine design and function. They feature stylish double doors that reveal an enormous fridge on top, and a freezer drawer below. These refrigerators stand out due to their unique features, such as through-the-door dispensers and higher-end ice makers.
We asked experts like Ladina Schopf, an interior designer, architect, and founder of LS Projects, for tips on choosing the right model. They weighed the capacity of storage as well as layout and energy efficiency, among other factors.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Like its name implies, GE’s Profile series is targeted at people who want to integrate cutting-edge features in their kitchens. The refrigerator is brimming 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. Given that this fridge costs an extra amount, I'd like to see better.
Other than that the fridge is a fantastic choice. It features a large freezer compartment that is not common for counter-depth French door fridges. It also holds a lot of frozen food items compared to other models.
Inside the fridge, there are 17 shelves and compartments. The refrigerator compartment is 18.5 cubic feet, which is typical for a French-door fridge at this price. It also has an adequate-sized icemaker packed into the left door, though it's not the largest I've seen.
You can alter the shelves in each compartment to create a customized storage arrangement for what you want to store. The GE PYE22PYNFS's design for the interior is stylish, too. Its LED lighting is a nice addition and the inside storage bins feature the third shelf, which folds down to make it possible to store tall items. The drawers have temperature controls, so you can set them for Meat, Beverage, or Deli settings. The drawers are easy to open and shut however I found the plastic's textured coatings to be a bit rough on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator has all the features you would expect from a refrigerator in this price range. This includes Wi-Fi as well as app support and GE's SmartHQ Software. The app is available for iOS and Android devices and allows you to control your refrigerator from any place around the world. It also has many options for customization. It also alerts you when doors are left open, when the fridge or freezer needs defrosting and when it's time to change the filter.
It would be nice if GE PYE22PYNFS came with Precise Fill it's an option in a handful of other GE fridges that allows you to choose how many cups of water you'd like to dispense at once. The fridge displays a countdown timer to display how much water remains 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 features a veggie compartment that keeps fruits and vegetables fresher for longer and two compressors to preserve food. The ice maker is one of the most efficient we've ever tested, and it produces a pyramid-shaped form of ice that is low in use of water. This fridge is ideal for a small household or a kitchenette with an attractive design and top of the best food preservation.
This refrigerator was rated as the top in our Refrigerators Test for a variety of reasons. Its freezer temperatures held firm at just above 0 degrees Fahrenheit and never moving by more than a fraction an inch. This is essential in preventing freezer burn. The fridge's fridge section also performed well, reaching the desired temperature for initial set within a matter of hours and keeping that temperature steady throughout the course of our tests.
Bosch is known for its top-of-the-line appliances which is why 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. The app lets you monitor and control your fridge remotely from your tablet or smartphone. The fridge is expensive, but it comes with excellent features and functionality for the cost.
It is important to know the limitations of your fridge. It is possible to be creative with tall items because the fridge has a limited shelf space. The shelves aren't resistant to spills and are easily stained or damaged by sharp items. It's simple to remove the trays in the fridge however, you must clean them regularly to prevent mold growth.
If you are considering this refrigerator, make sure you look over our review of the GE Appliances French Door Refrigerator and the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
LG Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The LG LRFLC2706S counter-depth refrigerator is a great option for those who require lots of space within 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 has a 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 sleeker drawers. The top shelf on the right can be folded down to give taller items more headroom. You'll also find a full-width drawer for deli and an inside water dispenser.
This refrigerator is equipped with an ice maker, making it simple to transfer frozen ice whenever you need it. The freezer features thoughtful design elements, for instance, sliding drawers that can help you to organize the place of your items. It also has a large container to store frozen food items, and a separate bin for ice.
Another cool feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. It lets you manage the refrigerator's temperature and lighting using your smartphone. It's a great way to control and monitor your refrigerator, especially if you're away from home.
french door fridge freezer is neat however it doesn't improve the performance of the fridge. In fact it took longer to defrost and chill food in this refrigerator than other refrigerators we tested. This could be due to the bigger capacity.
The doors are another problem with this refrigerator. They have handles that are sunken on the front, which allow shorter people to easily open them from the bottom, however they're not easy for taller people to guide shut without slamming them. It would have been much better if they had front-mounted handle.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a ideal option for those looking to combine the advantages of a French-door fridge's aesthetics with a more efficient layout. It has a capacity that is above average for counter-depth models, and it cools evenly. It's also a little less than the best counter depth refrigerator with an icemaker, which makes it a great option.
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 great choice. It has a simple design that isn't as visually striking as other models however it comes with enough features to make it a solid choice. Its most important feature is the adjustable temperature drawer, which helps keep foods such as meat and vegetables fresher for longer. It also comes with a large ice maker as well as a water dispenser.
The "Chill Drawer", which sits over the two crisper bins, is a great feature. This drawer allows you to redirect some 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 the slider located on the on the outside of the drawer. You can also use this to adjust the general cooling settings for the entire fridge, however, I've found that changing the general settings tends be more effective than specific ones.
During my tests, the temperatures of the refrigerator stayed fairly consistent across different areas of the fridge. Temperatures at the top and bottom of the fridge did not vary much from 38 degrees, and even the middle of the fridge was within one degree of 36. This is a good 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 connected with a smart thermostat in order to gain more precise information on the internal temperature of your fridge.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made of gray-bodied stainless with a "smudge proof" finish. It does a great job of repelling fingerprints and streaks even when compared to the shiny stainless steel finishes on other appliances I've tested.
Stephanie Cronk, executive editor of Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews Team, oversees the site's buyer's guides as well as product test reviews. She has more than 15 years of experience in commerce and publishing, primarily digital and retail. Stephanie is passionate about finding and recommending the most effective products for consumers, with a a focus on home goods and tech.