French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
Combining form and function, French-door refrigerators come with elegant double doors that open to a spacious fridge up the top and a freezer drawer below. These refrigerators stand out because of their distinctive features, like door-to-door dispensers and more expensive ice makers.
We asked Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect and founder of LS Projects - for her suggestions on how to pick the right home. They evaluated the capacity of storage as well as layout and energy efficiency, among other features.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Like its name implies, GE’s Profile series is aimed at consumers who want to incorporate cutting-edge technology into their kitchen. This fridge has them all including the Keurig K cup coffee maker inside 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. This fridge is expensive and I was expecting better.
Aside from that blip however, this refrigerator is a fantastic choice. It has a large freezer compartment, which is quite uncommon in counter-depth French door fridges, and it holds a good amount of frozen foods as compared to similar models.
Inside the fridge, you'll find 17 shelves and compartments. The refrigerator compartment is 18.5 cubic feet, which is typical for a fridge with a French door at this price. It also has an adequate-sized icemaker in the left door, though it's not the biggest I've seen.
You can alter the shelving in both compartments to create a customized storage layout for what you want to keep. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is attractive. Its LED lighting is a nice addition and the inside storage bins feature an additional shelf that folds down to make it possible to store items that are tall. The drawers have temperature controls so you can set them for Beverage, Meat, or Deli settings. The drawers are easy to shut and open however I found the textured plastic 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. It has Wi-Fi as well as app support and GE's SmartHQ Software. The app, which is available for iOS and Android devices can let you control your refrigerator from anywhere in the world, and offers many options for customizing. It also alerts you when a door is 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 had Precise Fill the option that is that is available in a few GE refrigerators that allows users to choose the amount of cups they wish to disperse. The fridge shows a countdown to show you how much water is left, but it's not as effective as Precise fill.
french door fridge freezers -door Refrigerator is a stunning piece of equipment. It's designed to appear like a seamless piece of your kitchen. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also boasts a veggie compartment that helps keep vegetables and fruits fresher for longer and has dual compressors to ensure maximum food preservation. The Ice maker we tested is one of the most efficient and produces pyramid shaped ice using minimal water. This refrigerator is a great choice for single household or kitchenettes looking for 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 temperature of the freezer remained stable at just above 0 degrees Fahrenheit, never fluctuating more than a fraction an inch. This is essential to avoiding freezing burn. The refrigerator section of the refrigerator also did well. It reached the temperature it was set within an hour and maintained that temperature throughout our testing.
Bosch is known for its premium appliances which is why it's no surprise that this counter depth refrigerator is also a smart appliance that has the option of connecting to your home Wi-Fi as well as Bosch's Home Connect platform. The app lets you monitor and control your refrigerator remotely from your smartphone or tablet. The refrigerator is pricey however, it offers excellent features and functionality at a reasonable cost.
While the fridge is an incredible piece of equipment but it's important to be aware of the limitations. It has a small shelf space, so you may have to think creatively when storing tall items. The shelves are also not spillproof and can easily be stained or damaged by sharp items. It's easy to remove the trays from the fridge however, you must clean them regularly to prevent mold growth.
If you are thinking about this refrigerator, be sure to check out our review of the French Door GE Appliances Refrigerator and the Bosch Bottom Freezer Refrigerator.
LG Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The LG LRFLC2706S is a top counter-depth refrigerator that packs plenty of storage into 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 an ordinary French-door design with gallon-sized bins for the doors on each door as well as two rows of shelves for spill-capture and a set sleeker drawers. The top shelf on the right side can be folded to provide more space for taller items. There's also a full-width deli drawer and an internal water dispenser.
One of the great aspects of this refrigerator is that its ice maker is inside the freezer, which makes it easy to move ice into the fridge for use when required. The freezer has thoughtful design elements, for instance, sliding drawers to help you better organize the position of items. It also has a huge bin that can hold plenty of frozen food items and an storage bin for ice.
Smart InstaView panel is a cool feature of the refrigerator. You can control the temperature, lighting, and more of your fridge from your smartphone. It's a simple way to keep track of your fridge and manage it, particularly when you're away from home.
Although the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it doesn't necessarily add to the overall performance of the refrigerator. In fact, it took longer to defrost and chill foods in this refrigerator than other refrigerators we test. This could be due to its larger capacity.
Another issue with this refrigerator is its doors. The handles that are sunken allow smaller people to open them from the bottom. However, taller people still have a difficult time closing them without slamming. It would have been better if they had front-mounted handle.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a good option for those looking to combine the advantages of a French-door refrigerator's aesthetics with an efficient layout. Its capacity is superior for a counter-depth model, and it cools well and has a nice layout. It's also a bit cheaper than the top counter depth refrigerator that comes with an ice maker, making it a great 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's a minimalist design that's not as striking visually as other models, but it has enough features to make it a good option. Its most significant feature, the adjustable temperature drawer helps to keep food items such as vegetables and meat fresher longer. It also comes with a huge water and ice maker dispenser.
Another great feature is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins. This drawer lets you direct some of your fridge's cooling power into the area so that you can store foods that require extra attention. You can adjust this feature by using a slider that's located right outside of the drawer. You can also adjust the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. I have found that the general settings work better than the specific ones.
In my tests, I found that the temperatures in the refrigerator were fairly consistent across various parts of the refrigerator. The temperatures in the middle, top and bottom of the refrigerator didn't vary much from 38 degrees. This is a great performance, but it doesn't quite make it to 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 Frigidaire FGHB2866PF's outside is made of stainless steel with a grey body that has a "smudge-proof" finish. It blocks streaks and fingerprints better than other stainless steel finishes I've tried.
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 publishing and commerce experience, primarily in retail and digital. Stephanie is adamant about finding the top products and recommending them to consumers. She concentrates on home and technology.