Ten French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker That Will Make Your Life Better
French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review
French-door refrigerators blend functionality and form. They have elegant double doors that open to reveal an enormous fridge on top and a freezer drawer below. Special features such as through-the-door dispensers, high-end ice machines and adjustable flex drawers make them stand out from the crowd.
We consulted experts such as Ladina Schopf, an interior designer, architect, and founder of LS Projects, for tips on choosing the right model. They weighed storage capacity and layout and energy efficiency as well as other aspects.
GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
As the name suggests, the GE Profile series is geared towards consumers who want to incorporate cutting-edge technologies in their kitchen. 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. This fridge is expensive and I was expecting better.
Other than that the fridge is a great choice. It has a large freezer compartment, which is quite uncommon in counter-depth French door refrigerators. Additionally, it can hold a decent amount of frozen food as compared to similar models.
Inside the fridge, there are 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment has 18.5 cubic feet, which is the standard for a fridge with a French door at this price. It also has a decent sized ice maker in the left door, but it's not the biggest I've seen.
You can adjust the shelving in each compartment to create a customized storage arrangement for what you want to store. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is also attractive. The LED lighting is a nice addition and the inside storage bins feature an additional shelf that folds down to allow you to store items that are tall. The drawers come with temperature controls that let you set them to Meat, Beverage, or Deli settings. They're easy to open and close, although I found their textured plastic coatings a bit hard on the fingers.
The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator comes with all the features you'd 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 allows you to control your refrigerator from anywhere in the world, and has a ton of customization options. It also sends you notifications when a door is left open, when your fridge or freezer is in need of defrosting, and when it's time to change the filter.
It is nice if the GE PYE22PYNFS had Precise Fill which is an option that is available in a few other GE fridges that allow you to choose how many cups of water you'd like to disperse simultaneously. It also has an indicator on the fridge display to display how much water have remaining, but that's not as effective 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 component in 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 helps keep vegetables and fruits fresher for longer and dual compressors to ensure the best preservation of food. The ice maker is one of the top we've tested, and it produces a pyramid-shaped form of ice with a low use of water. This refrigerator is the ideal option for a single family or kitchenettes who want an integrated look and top-of-the-line food preservation.
This fridge was rated the most efficient in our Refrigerators Test for several reasons. Its freezer temperatures held firm at just above 0 degrees Fahrenheit and never moving more than a fraction a degree--this is key to preventing freezer burn. The fridge's fridge section also performed well, reaching the desired temperature for initial set within an hour and keeping that temperature steady throughout the course of our tests.
Bosch is a household name for its top-quality appliances. Therefore, it's no surprise that the Bosch counter depth refrigerator can be connected to your home Wi Fi and Bosch's platform Home Connect. This app allows you to monitor and manage your fridge remotely using your smartphone or tablet. The refrigerator is expensive, however it has great features and capabilities for the price.
While the fridge is an incredible appliance however, it is important to understand the limitations. You might need to be inventive with tall items since 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. The trays can be easily removed from the refrigerator. However, they must be cleaned regularly to prevent the growth of mold.
If you're considering this refrigerator, make sure to check out our reviews of the GE Appliances French Door Refrigerator as well as 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 plenty 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 features the standard French door layout, with two rows of spill-capture shelving and a set crisper drawers. The top shelf to the right can be folded in order to create more space for taller items. You'll also find a full-width drawer for deli and an inside water dispenser.
One of the nice aspects of this refrigerator is that the ice maker is in the freezer, which makes it easy to transfer frozen ice to the fridge for use when needed. The freezer also has thoughtful design features, like sliding drawers that help you organize your belongings. french door refrigerator freezer has a large bin that holds plenty of frozen food items and an additional storage bin for ice.
Another cool feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. It lets you manage the refrigerator's temperature, lighting, and more using your smartphone. It's a great method of monitoring and managing your refrigerator, particularly if you're away from home.
Although the Smart InstaView is a neat feature, it does not necessarily enhance the overall performance of the refrigerator. In fact it took a bit longer to defrost and chill food in this fridge than some of the others we tested. This is probably due to its greater capacity.
Another issue with the doors of this refrigerator. They have sunken handles at the front, which allows smaller people to pull them open from the bottom, but they're still difficult for taller people to guide shut without slamming them. It would have been more effective to have front-mounted handles.
The LG Counter-Depth MAX fridge is an excellent choice for those looking to combine the aesthetics of a French-door refrigerator with a more efficient design. Its capacity is superior for a counter-depth model, and it cools evenly and has a great layout. It's also a bit cheaper than the top counter depth refrigerator with an ice maker, making it an attractive choice.
Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
If you're looking for a French door refrigerator that won't cost you a fortune and isn't expensive, this Frigidaire is a good choice. It's a basic refrigerator that might not be as eye-catching like some of its competitors however, it does have enough features to make a suitable option. Its most important feature is the temperature adjustable drawer that helps keep food items such as meat and vegetables fresher for longer. It also comes with a huge ice maker and a water dispenser.
Another great feature is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins. This drawer allows you to direct some of the refrigerator's cooling power to this area, so it can be used to store food items which need extra attention. This feature is adjustable using a slider located outside the drawer. You can also set the general cooling settings for the entire fridge. I've found that the general settings are more effective than the specific ones.
In my tests, I found that the temperatures in the refrigerator were fairly consistent in various parts of the refrigerator. The temperatures in the top, bottom and middle of the refrigerator did not differ much from 38 degrees. This is a great performance, but does not 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. You can also combine this fridge with a smart thermometer for more precise measurements of your fridge's internal temperature.
The Frigidaire FGHB2866PF's exterior is made of stainless steel with a grey-bodied body that has a "smudge-proof" finish. It repels fingerprints and streaks better than other stainless steel finishes I've tested.
Stephanie Cronk is the executive editor of 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 digital and retail. Stephanie is committed to finding and recommending the top products for consumers, with particular focus on home items and technology.