French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
Combining form and functionality, French-door refrigerators have elegant double doors that open up to an expansive fridge on the top and a freezer drawer beneath. Special features such as through-the-door dispensers, ice machines with higher-end features and flex drawers that can be customized make them stand out from the crowd.
We sought out experts like Ladina Schopf, an interior designer, architect, and founder of LS Projects, for tips on how to select the best one. They considered storage capacity, layout, energy efficiency, and other aspects.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Like the name suggests, the GE Profile series is targeted at consumers who want to incorporate cutting-edge technology in their kitchen. This fridge has them all, from a Keurig K cup coffee maker in 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, so I expected better.
This fridge is a good choice, despite the small blip. It features a large freezer compartment that is not common for counter-depth French-door fridges. It also holds plenty of frozen food, which is a big difference from other models.
The fridge comes with 17 shelves and compartments. The refrigerator compartment is 18.5 cubic feet, which is 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's not the biggest I've seen.
You can adjust the shelves in both compartments to create a customized storage arrangement for whatever you have to store. The GE PYE22PYNFS's design for the interior is good-looking, too. The LED lighting adds an appealing touch. The in-door storage bins come with 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. The drawers are easy to shut and open, but I found the textured plastic coatings to be a bit rough on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator has all the features you'd expect from a refrigerator in this price range. This includes Wi-Fi, app support and GE's SmartHQ Software. The app, available for iOS and Android devices allows you to control your refrigerator from anywhere in the world, and it has a ton of customization options. It also sends you notifications when the door is unlocked, when the fridge or freezer requires defrosting, and when the filter has to be changed.
It is nice to have GE PYE22PYNFS could offer Precise Fill which is a feature available in a handful of GE refrigerators that allow users to choose the amount of cups they wish to disperse. The fridge displays a countdown to show you how much water is left however it's not as effective as Precise Fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
The Bosch French-door Refrigerator is a striking piece. 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 features a veggie compartment that keeps vegetables and fruits fresher for longer, and two compressors to preserve food. The ice maker we tested was one of the most efficient and makes pyramid shaped ice using minimal water. This refrigerator is the ideal 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 the highest-rated refrigerator in our Refrigerators Test for a few reasons. Its freezer temperatures remained constant at just above 0° Fahrenheit and never fluctuated more than a tiny fraction - this is crucial to prevent the risk of a freezer burn. The fridge section of the fridge also performed well. It reached the initial temperature within a matter of hours, and remained at the temperature throughout our tests.
Bosch is a household name for its top-quality appliances. It's therefore no surprise that the Bosch counter depth fridge can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's platform Home Connect. The app allows you to control and monitor your refrigerator remotely on your tablet or smartphone. The fridge is a bit expensive, but it comes with great features and capabilities for the cost.
It is important to know the limitations of the fridge. You may need to get creative with tall items because the fridge has a limited shelf space. Additionally, the shelves are not impervious to sprills and could be damaged or stained by sharp objects. It's easy to remove the trays in the fridge, but be sure to clean them regularly to prevent the growth of mold.
If you're thinking about buying this refrigerator, make sure to also read our reviews 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 need a lot of space in a small frame. It has a sleek, fingerprint-resistant stainless-steel finish and features thick handles that make them comfortable to grip. Inside, the refrigerator has the standard French-door layout, with gallon-sized door bins at each door as well as two rows of shelves for spill-capture and a set crisper drawers. The top shelf on the right can be folded in order to create more space for tall items. There's also a full-width storage drawer for food items and an internal water dispenser.
One of the great aspects of this refrigerator is that the Ice maker is located in the freezer, which makes it simple to move the ice to the refrigerator to be used when it is needed. The freezer also has thoughtful design features, such as sliding drawers that allow you to sort your things. It comes with a large bin for storing frozen food and a separate one for ice.
Another cool feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. It allows you to manage the refrigerator's temperature as well as lighting using your smartphone. It's a simple method to keep track of your fridge and manage it, particularly when you're not at home.
However, while the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it does not necessarily improve the overall performance of the refrigerator. In fact it took a bit longer to defrost and chill foods in this refrigerator than other refrigerators we tested. This is likely due to the greater capacity.
Another issue with the doors of this refrigerator. The sunken handles allow shorter people to open them from the bottom. However taller people will struggle to close them without slamming. It would have been better if these had front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is an excellent choice for those looking to blend the look of a French door refrigerator with a more efficient design. Its capacity is higher than average for a counter-depth model, and it cools well and has a nice layout. It's also a little less than the best counter depth refrigerator with an ice maker, making it an attractive 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 solid option. It's a basic refrigerator that may not be as appealing as some of its competitors however it has enough features to make it a good choice. Its main feature is the temperature adjustable drawer which helps keep food items such as meat and vegetables fresher for longer. It also has a large ice maker and a water dispenser.
french style fridge freezer is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins. The drawer allows you to divert some of the refrigerator's cooling power directly to this area, meaning you can store foods that require special attention. You can adjust the feature using a slider that's located right outside of the drawer. You can also alter the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. I've noticed that the general settings are more effective than the specific ones.
In my tests, I discovered that the temperatures in the refrigerator were fairly consistent in different areas of the fridge. french door refrigerator freezer at the top and bottom of the fridge did not vary significantly from 38 degrees, and the middle of the fridge was within one degree of 36. This is a pretty good performance however it doesn't be among the top in our ratings.
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. The fridge can be linked with a smart thermostat to get more accurate readings on the internal temperature of your fridge.
The exterior of the Frigidaire is made from grey-bodied stainless that has a "smudge resistant" finish. It does a great job of removing streaks and fingerprints even when compared with shiny stainless steel finishes on other appliances I've tested.
Stephanie Cronk is the executive editor on Reviewed's Commerce/Product Reviews team and oversees the site's buyer's guide and product reviews for test products. She has more than 15 years of commerce and publishing experience, with a focus on retail and digital. Stephanie is committed to finding and recommending the best products for consumers, with a an emphasis on home products and technology.