A Glimpse Inside The Secrets Of French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker
French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
Combining form and function, French-door refrigerators offer stylish double doors that open to an expansive fridge on the top and a freezer drawer below. These refrigerators stand out due to their special features, including through-the-door dispensers as well as higher-end Ice makers.
We consulted Ladina Schopf - interior designer, architect, and founder of LS Projects - for her suggestions on how to pick the best one. They looked at the capacity of storage, layout, and energy efficiency among other aspects.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
As its name suggests, the GE Profile series is aimed at those who wish to incorporate cutting-edge technology into their kitchens. This refrigerator has it all including the Keurig K cup coffee maker on 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. Given that this fridge costs an extra amount, I'd like to see better.
Aside from that blip however, this refrigerator is a great option. french style fridge freezer has a huge freezer compartment, which is unusual 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 offers 18.5 cubic feet of space, which is roughly on what you would expect from the size of a French door fridge costing this much. It has a decent sized icemaker in the left door. But it's not the biggest one I've seen.
You can alter the shelves in both compartments for a custom storage solution. The GE PYE22PYNFS's design for the interior is good-looking, too. Its LED lighting is a nice feature and the storage bins come with an additional shelf that folds up beneath itself so that you can store tall items. The drawers come with temperature controls, so you can set them to Meat, Beverage, or Deli settings. The drawers are simple to shut and open however I found the plastic's textured coatings a bit hard on my fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator comes with the full suite of features you'd expect from a refrigerator at this price 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 control your refrigerator from anywhere across the globe. It also has numerous options for customizing. It also sends you notifications when the door is left unlocked, when the fridge or freezer needs to be defrosted, and when the filter requires a change.
It would be nice if GE PYE22PYNFS included Precise fill, an option available in other GE fridges that allows you to preset how many cups of water you'd like to disperse simultaneously. It does have a countdown feature on the display of the fridge to display how much water you have left, but it's not as useful as Precise Fill.
Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
Designed to look like a seamless part of your kitchen Bosch's French door refrigerator is an eye-catching piece. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also has a vegetable compartment which keeps vegetables and fruits fresher for longer, and dual compressors to preserve food items. The ice maker we tested was one of the most efficient and makes the shape of a pyramid using only water. This refrigerator is the ideal option for a single family or kitchenettes looking for a sleek design and top-of-the-line food preservation.
The fridge was rated the best refrigerator in our Refrigerators test, for a few reasons. The temperature of the freezer remained stable at a level that was just above 0 degrees Fahrenheit, never moving by more than a fraction a degree--this is key in preventing freezing burn. The fridge section of the fridge also performed well, achieving the desired initial set temperature within an hour and keeping that temperature steady throughout the course of our tests.
Bosch is a household name for its high-end appliances. Therefore, it's not a surprise that the Bosch counter depth fridge can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's platform Home Connect. This app lets you monitor and control your fridge remotely from your tablet or smartphone. The refrigerator is pricey however, it offers excellent features and capabilities at a reasonable cost.
It is important to know the limitations of the fridge. It is possible to be creative with tall objects because the fridge has a small shelf space. The shelves are also not resistant to spills and are easily damaged or stained by sharp objects. The trays can be easily removed from the refrigerator. However, they should be cleaned frequently to stop the growth of mold.
If you're considering this refrigerator, be sure to also check out 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 is a great counter-depth refrigerator that packs plenty of storage in a 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 the standard French-door layout, with gallon-sized bins for the doors on each door, two rows of spill-capture shelves and a set more spacious drawers. The top shelf on the right side can be folded down to make space for taller items. There's also a full-width deli drawer and an internal water dispenser.
This refrigerator is equipped with an ice maker, making it simple to transfer ice when needed. The freezer also comes with thoughtful design features, such as sliding drawers that help you organize your belongings. It also has a huge bin that can accommodate plenty of frozen food and a separate ice storage bin.
Another awesome feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. You can control the temperature, lighting and more of your fridge from your smartphone. It's a good way to monitor and manage your refrigerator, especially if you're away from home.
However, while the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it doesn't necessarily enhance the overall performance of the refrigerator. In fact, it took longer to defrost and chill food in this fridge than some of the others we tried. This is likely due to the greater capacity.
Another issue with this refrigerator is its doors. The sunken handles allow smaller people to open them from the bottom. However french door refrigerator freezer struggle to close them without slamming them. It would have been much better if they came with 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 an efficient layout. Its capacity is superior to counter-depth models, and it cools evenly. It's also less expensive than the top counter-depth refrigerator that has an ice maker, which can make it a desirable choice.
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 has a simple design that isn't as striking visually like some of the competitors however it comes with enough features to make it a solid option. Its main feature is the adjustable temperature drawer that helps keep food items such as meat and vegetables fresher for longer. It also comes with a large water and ice maker dispenser.
Another nice feature is the "Chill Drawer" that sits above the two crisper bins. This drawer allows you to redirect some of the refrigerator's cooling power into this area, so that you can keep food items that require extra attention. You can alter the feature using an adjustable slider that is located just on the outside of the drawer. You can also use this to adjust the general cooling settings for the whole fridge, but I've noticed that adjusting the general settings tends have a better effect than specific ones.
In my tests, the temperatures of the refrigerator were fairly consistent across all areas of the refrigerator. The temperatures in the top, bottom and middle of the fridge didn't differ significantly from 38 degrees. This is a good performance, but it doesn't quite make it to the top of 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. 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 from gray-bodied stainless with a "smudge proof" finish. It does a great job of preventing streaks and fingerprints from appearing even when compared with shiny stainless steel finishes on other appliances 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 commerce and publishing experience, with a focus on retail and digital. Stephanie is committed to finding and recommending the top products for consumers, with particular focus on home items and tech.