French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door refrigerators are a perfect blend of design and function. They come with elegant double doors that open to reveal an enormous fridge on top, and a freezer drawer beneath. Special features like through-the-door dispensers, higher-end ice machines and adjustable flex drawers make them stand out from the rest.
We contacted Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect and founder of LS Projects - for her advice on how to choose the right home. They considered the capacity of storage, layout, and energy efficiency, among other factors.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
As its name suggests, the GE Profile series is aimed at people who want to incorporate cutting-edge technology into their kitchens. This refrigerator has it all, from a Keurig K cup coffee maker inside the door to a sophisticated dispenser of water. But these flourishes don't mask mediocre performance, especially in the refrigerator's freezer and an ineffective temperature-controlled drawer. Since this refrigerator costs a premium, I expect better.
This refrigerator is a good option, despite the slight blip. It boasts a spacious freezer compartment, which is uncommon in counter-depth French door fridges, and it can hold a decent amount of frozen food when in comparison to similar models.
Inside the fridge, there are 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment is 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is about the same as a French door refrigerator that costs this much. It also has a decent sized ice maker that is tucked away in the left door, though it's not the biggest I've seen.
You can alter the shelves in each compartment to create a custom storage setup for the items you need to keep. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is attractive. Its LED lighting is a nice touch and the inside storage bins feature an additional shelf that folds up beneath itself so that you can store items that are tall. The drawers come with temperature controls that let you set them to Meat, Beverage or Deli settings. The drawers are simple 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 includes the full suite of features you'd expect from a refrigerator in this price range with Wi-Fi and app support through GE's SmartHQ software. The app is compatible with iOS and Android devices and lets you control your refrigerator from any place around the world. It also has numerous options for customizing. It also alerts you when doors are left open, when your 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 which is an option that is available in other GE refrigerators that allows you to choose how many cups of water you'd like to disperse simultaneously. french style fridge freezer does have a countdown feature on the fridge display to display how much water you have remaining, but that's not as useful 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 of your kitchen. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also comes with a veggie compartment that keeps vegetables and fruits fresher for longer and has dual compressors for maximum preservation of food. 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 the perfect option for households with a single member or kitchenettes that want a built-in look and top-of-the-line food preservation.
This refrigerator was rated as the best in our Refrigerators Test for several reasons. The freezer temperature remained steady at just above 0° Fahrenheit and never changed more than a fraction - this is essential to avoid freezing burn. The refrigerator section of the refrigerator also performed well. It reached the initial temperature within an hour, and maintained that temperature throughout our testing.
Bosch is a household name known for its high-end appliances. It's therefore no 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 platform Home Connect. This app lets you monitor and manage your fridge remotely using your tablet or smartphone. The fridge is expensive and has great features and capabilities at a reasonable price.
While the fridge is an incredible piece of equipment, it's important to know the limitations. It is possible to be creative with tall objects because the fridge is limited in shelf space. The shelves are also not impervious to spills and could easily be stained or damaged by sharp items. It's simple to remove the trays from the fridge However, be sure to keep them clean to avoid the growth of mold.
If you're thinking of buying this refrigerator, be sure to look over our review of the French Door GE Appliances Refrigerator and 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 a lot of space in the space of a 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 a standard French door layout, with two rows of shelving with spill-capture and a set of crisper drawers. The top shelf on the right can be folded down to give tall items more room. You'll also find a full-width drawer for deli items and an internal water dispenser.
One of the nice aspects of this refrigerator is that its ice maker is in the freezer, making it simple to move ice into the fridge for use when needed. The freezer also comes with innovative design features such as sliding drawers that help you sort your things. It also has a large container to store frozen food items, and a separate container for ice.
Another awesome feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. It allows you to control the fridge's temperature as well as lighting via your smartphone. It's a nice method of monitoring and managing your refrigerator, especially if you're away from home.
Although the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it doesn't add to the overall performance of the refrigerator. The fridge took a bit longer to defrost food and chill it than the other fridges we tested. french door fridge and freezer is likely due to the bigger capacity.
The doors are a different issue with this refrigerator. The sunken handles allow smaller people to open them from the bottom. However taller people have a hard time closing them without slamming. It would have been better if they had a front-mounted handle.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a good option for those looking to combine the benefits of a fridge with a French door with a more efficient layout. Its capacity is above average for a counter-depth model and it cools evenly and has a great layout. It's also a bit cheaper than the most expensive counter depth refrigerator with an ice maker, making it a desirable option.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for a French door refrigerator that won't cost a fortune and isn't expensive, this Frigidaire is a solid option. 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 option. Its most important characteristic is the adjustable temperature drawer which helps keep food items like veggies and meat fresher for longer. It also comes with a large ice maker and a water dispenser.
The "Chill Drawer", which is located over the two crisper bins, is a nice feature. This drawer allows you to direct some of the refrigerator's cooling power to this area so that you can store foods that require extra attention. You can alter this feature 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 whole fridge, however, I've found that changing the general settings tends to have a better effect than specific ones.
During my tests, I found that the temperatures in the refrigerator were fairly consistent in different areas of the fridge. The temperatures in the top and bottom of the fridge didn't stray much from 38 degrees, and even the middle of the fridge was within one degree of 36. This is a pretty good performance, but it doesn't quite be among the top in 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 pair this fridge with a smart thermometer for more precise measurements of your fridge's internal temperature.
The Frigidaire FGHB2866PF's exterior is constructed of stainless steel with a grey body with a "smudge-proof" finish. It repels fingerprints and streaks better than other stainless steel finishes I've tested.
Stephanie Cronk, executive editor of Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews Team, oversees the site’s buyer’s guides and product test reviews. She has more than 15 years of experience in commerce and publishing mostly in retail and digital. Stephanie is passionate about finding and recommending the best products for consumers, with a a focus on home goods and tech.