The Hidden Secrets Of French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker

French Door Refrigerator With Ice Maker Review

French-door refrigerators blend design and function. They come with stylish double doors that show a large fridge on top, and a freezer drawer beneath. Special features such as through-the-door dispensers, ice machines with higher-end features and adjustable flex drawers make them stand out from the rest.

We consulted Ladina Schopf - an interior designer, architect and founder of LS Projects - for her suggestions on how to pick the best one. They looked at storage capacity, layout and energy efficiency, among other factors.

GE Profile Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator

Like its name implies, GE’s Profile series is targeted at consumers who want to incorporate cutting-edge technologies into their kitchens. This refrigerator has it 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. Given that this fridge costs more, I'd expect better.

Other than that the fridge is a great choice. It has a large freezer compartment, which is uncommon in counter-depth French door fridges, and it holds a fair amount of frozen foods compared to similar models.

The fridge comes with 17 shelves and compartments. The fridge compartment has 18.5 cubic feet, which is typical for a French-door fridge at this price. It also has a decent-sized icemaker packed into the left door, though it's not the largest I've seen.

You can adjust the shelves in both compartments to make a custom storage solution. The interior design of the GE PYE22PYNFS is stylish, too. The LED lighting is a nice accent. The storage bins in the door have a third shelf which can be folded down to store tall objects. The drawers have temperature controls that let you set them to Meat, Beverage or Deli settings. The drawers are easy to open and close, but I found the textured plastic coatings a bit hard on my fingers.

The GE PGE29BYTFS Smart Refrigerator includes all the features you'd expect from a refrigerator within this price range. This includes Wi-Fi as well as app support, and GE's SmartHQ Software. The app is compatible with iOS and Android devices and allows you to manage your refrigerator from anywhere across the globe. It also comes with numerous options for customizing. It will also send you notifications when the door is left unlocked, when the fridge or freezer requires defrosting, and when the filter needs to be changed.

It would be great it GE PYE22PYNFS offered Precise fill which is a feature available in a handful of GE refrigerators that allows users to choose the amount of cups they wish to pour out. It does have an indicator on the fridge's display to show how much water you have left, but it's not as effective as Precise fill.

Bosch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator

It is designed to look like a seamless piece of your kitchen, Bosch's French-door refrigerator is a standout. The fridge uses fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, which is a great feature for busy households. It also boasts a veggie compartment to keep vegetables and fruits fresher for longer, and two compressors to ensure maximum food preservation. The Ice maker is among the best we've ever tested and produces pyramid-shaped Ice with low use of water. This fridge is the perfect option for households with a single member or kitchenettes that want an integrated look and top of the line food preservation.

This fridge was rated as the best in our Refrigerators Test for several reasons. The freezer temperatures remained steady at just above 0 degrees Fahrenheit, and never fluctuating more than a fraction of one degree. This is crucial to preventing freezer burn. The fridge's fridge section also performed well, achieving the desired temperature for initial set within an hour and maintaining that temperature steady over the course of our testing.

Bosch is known for its premium appliances and appliances, so it's not a surprise that this counter-depth refrigerator is also a smart appliance with the option to connect to your home Wi-Fi network and Bosch's Home Connect platform. This app allows you to monitor and control the refrigerator remotely using your tablet or smartphone. The fridge is expensive, but it offers top-quality features and functions for the price.

It is important to know the limitations of the fridge. You may need to get creative with tall objects because the fridge is limited in shelf space. Additionally the shelves aren't completely sprillproof, and can easily be 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, make sure to review our opinions on the GE Appliances French Door 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 lots of space within a small frame. It has a sleek, fingerprint-resistant stainless-steel finish and features thick handles that make them comfortable to grip. The fridge features an ordinary French door design, with two rows of shelves that can be used to capture spills and a set crisper drawers. The top shelf on the right can be folded down to make space for taller items. There's also a full-width drawer for deli items and an internal water dispenser.

The refrigerator comes with an ice maker, making it simple to transfer frozen ice whenever you need it. The freezer also comes with clever design features, like sliding drawers that allow you to sort your things. It also has a large container for storing frozen food and a separate container for ice.

Another cool feature of this refrigerator is its Smart InstaView panel. You can manage the temperature, lighting, and more of your fridge from your smartphone. It's a simple way to keep track of your refrigerator and manage it, particularly when you're not at home.

Although 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 foods in this fridge than other refrigerators we tried. This could be due to its greater capacity.

Another issue with the door of this refrigerator. The handles that are sunken let shorter people open them from the bottom. However taller people have a hard time closing them without slamming. It would have been much better if they had handles mounted on the front.

The LG Counter-Depth MAX is a excellent choice for those who want to combine the benefits of a fridge with a French door 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 less than the top counter-depth refrigerator that has an ice maker, which helps make it a desirable choice.

Frigidaire Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator

This Frigidaire French door refrigerator is a good option when you're looking for a French door refrigerator that doesn't cost a lot of budget. It's a simple fridge that might not be as eye-catching like some of its competitors however, it does have enough features to make it a good choice. Its most notable feature is the temperature adjustable drawer, helps to keep food items like vegetables and meat fresher longer. It also has a large ice maker as well as a water dispenser.

Another great feature is the "Chill Drawer" that sits over the two crisper bins.  Frydge  lets you divert a portion of the refrigerator's cooling power directly into this area, which means you can keep food items that need extra attention. You can adjust the feature using an adjustable slider that is located just on the outside of the drawer. You can also use this to set a general cooling level for the whole fridge, but I've noticed that adjusting the general settings tends produce better results than specific ones.

During my tests, the temperatures of the refrigerator were fairly consistent across all areas of the fridge. The temperatures in the middle, top and bottom of the refrigerator did not differ significantly from 38 degrees. This is a pretty good performance however it doesn't make it into the top ten 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 an intelligent thermometer to get more precise readings of your fridge's internal temperature.

The exterior of the Frigidaire is made from grey-bodied stainless with a "smudge proof" finish. It does an excellent job of repelling fingerprints and streaks, even compared to glossy stainless steel finishes on other appliances I've tried.

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 publishing and commerce experience, mostly in retail and digital. Stephanie is passionate about finding the most effective products and recommending them to customers. She is particularly interested in home goods and technology.