Best Counter-Depth Refrigerator Brands for 2024

hi everyone welcome to Appliance advisors I'm Fran chesco joined by Dennis today we're going to talk about the best counter-depth refrigerator and just before we even get into brands or anything like that let's just talk about what is a counter depth refrigerator so we're talking about the difference here you know you hear a lot counter depth standard depth or full depth what a counter depth refrigerator is and again we're talking freestanding refrigerators that kind of slide into a space here counter depth means that the body of the fridge itself is about 24 in deep to mirror a standard depth of a cabinet outside of that what will stick out from your standard cabinet is your door and your handles full depth conversely what you see for a full depth or standard depth refrigerator they're going to be deeper so now the body of the refrigerator typically 28 in or so it's about 3 to 4 inches deeper than what a standard cabinet is plus the door in the handle so counter depth has really kind of overtaken standard or full depth really for that kind of cleaner look cleaner you know built-in style look more for a freestanding refrigerator so just to kind of clear up that's what we're talking about here is counter depth refrigerators now let's talk about some of the brands so let's start with LG who makes you know some really terrific refrigerators what do we think there yeah terrific refrigerators with low service I mean it's kind of a home run um so LG and Samsung those two companies produced a lot of uh they produce a lot of these bottom counter up refrigerators they brought a lot of Technology into their fridges so you saw glass doors you saw you could knock on the glass uh they call knock to open or insta view where you knock on the glass and the lights turn on uh door Ino where you the doors are kind of two doors within one so you could open it and just get this stuff right at the very close you or something you access drink or whatever you go to um and then a lot of Technology inside now they've always the the Korean companies definitely push innovation in terms of their way ahead of lighting and and and Tech features LG certainly is is does all that with a super low service rating which I generally don't see when people push Tech that fast especially on counter depth Refrigeration oh they're able to do it so kudos to them now if there's an to this point had been a knock on them was that as we said these the the the idea that the body of the fridge is flush with your cabins in a counter but the door sticking out most of the American brands that had counter up refrigerators which have had them for years you needed a 3-in filler so the cabinets to the left and right of it you needed to Le keep three inches before you started the next cabinet for the door to be able to open to 90 degrees to be able to get your crisper bins out and or clean it easily and access it that was a standard the Korean companies built these big massive doors trying to get bigger space and just all this KN knock you know instaview knock on doors and all stuff but what it created was a very big door yeah and this door now in those Brands to this point for the longest time required five or six inches of a filler that's a lot in a kitchen when you're trying to maximize it so while we love everything they're doing a fair amount of returns when people didn't really pay ention to that or as much you know there was a tradeoff to maybe a cabinet because you're grabbing more space on either side that was a problem still can be in a lot of their models but then they came out with the counter the the the ultrax or the counter Max and what counter de Max was was an industry first they haven't shared it but a proprietary insulation way to insulate the refrigerator to make the sidewalls and traditional uh insulation much much much thinner so that the interior capacity of a counter depth refrigerator could be much bigger when you talked about standard depth refrigerators versus counter depth initially and we know that the standard depth or full depth is much deeper than a counter depth you got more space yeah but in that full depth refrigerator vers count of that space while there is in depth truly front to back so food tends to get buried so while you got more space it's always been that big debate over was it functional space or was it the food you're like oh my God that SP when the last time you looked at that food that when did you pull everything okay so LG comes forward and they say hey let's make this let's make this ultramax this thinner insulation we can get 207 cubic feet of space MH to this point we've never seen a counter depth over 23 really and a full depth is anywhere between 25 and you can get some closer to 30 but 27 was like the standard of a full depth fridge in these big they were able to do it tight to the counter yeah with this new installation so that came out probably about nine months ago now sells tremendously well they still had the challenge with the thicker door but the the Interior Space was amazing yeah um so I I I give them a lot of credit there so they changed the thinking and now of course everyone's going to knock it off mhm so you're going to see Samsung try to come out with some version of this you'll see American see Whirlpool you see these companies trying to do a similar thing now they've never been able to do it with the low service rating of an LG most brands haven't been able to but it was kind of a cool thing and I and I will say this without disclosing because I can't today the ultrax they launched at the masses in LG proper but we know that LG has steps and they have LG they have LG studio and then they have Signature Kitchen s are very highend premium but in those two the one knock to it if I were to be honest is I think their door bins are just okay in the ultrax and I think as they start to release more models they will start to get a nicer interior the beautiful part is it's very affordable but I think when they increase the interior there'll be a few other options that's probably the one knock to this first release for them yeah and I can't talk too much about some of the other things I've seen that they're doing but when you go to a a private room or a showing or if you're ever Korea and you get to see kind of what they're thinking of next this company is aware of the depth of its doors and the the bugaboos with all its products and like they introduced ultramax here um I think the sky's a limit where this comp this this company's Innovation is like I've never I mean they're thinking of things that even though we think about this all day long clearly they do too and holy smokes it's pretty some of it's really wow will that work but then there's enough there that you're like yeah they and like you said feature-wise and even now like maybe away from the counter depth Max series but like you look at some of their kind of Step Up models I mean they look phenomenal pH metal cooling all interior stainless steel a really nice adjustable shelving two kinds of ice with the craft ice and your standard ice like they really do some abely yeah if you could if the five or six inches for for 85% of the people it works but it's just something we point out because it's probably the one thing that's not is easily thought about when you're shopping for sure um so you just want to be aware of how that works in your space especially if you're replacing something pre-existing defin think about how those doors will open and do you have those clearances but aside from that if I could fit it I'd do an LG fridge all day long I think it's an amazing refrigerator even to your point before ultramax and I think that's the next platform to them to continue to just go so next brand now let's jump to Bosch so Bosch historically had been someone that you know didn't really do much of their own Refrigeration kind of had always had its source for them now a couple years ago they came out with all their own Bosch made freestanding Refrigeration what do you thoughts there so Bosch did a really nice job and they needed to because they were oeming everything before this someone else was producing for them for the most part and and and I would say nothing about it was special and it was kind of just okay quality their new Refrigeration lineup they are actually producing it it's their first counter depth production of their own and it's it's a solid one I mean they so they took some takeaways from we always bring up Sub-Zero always having that dual compressor story um where there's just a compressor for the fridge and just one for the freezer where everyone else where most to that point standards were just one compressor so two compressors maintaining constant temperature just within its own unit uh compartment of fridge or freezer longer life they mimicked that and did that in their Thermador Brands uh in their Thermador built-in brands have two compressors now you move down to the Bosch and so they really the first first countered up the refrigerator to take away from the premium Brands like thermor and Subzero that had these dual compressor stories and have introduced it in a counter depth yeah all the while really being smart about it so what we see with a lot of Brands is and you're seeing a trend too because as retailers and I think as consumers it resonates you're not always doing a new kitchen and refrigerator die and sometimes less is more less handles and conflicting handles and if you want to mix Brands and whatnot so these pocket handles have been really smart where there isn't a true handle it's a scoop or it's just an area to pull open the door so that you can put into any existing space or longterm it will mix with any other appliances and you not be having multiple handles they've thought of everything so the two compressors they have options in all the most of their major models because they have a few different models um of having a pocket or a tubular handle yeah um interiorly they have great lighting I think their door bins are soloft their freezer well laid out I mean it it does very well very clean aesthetic goes with a lot of brands well you can mix and match it very easily so it it's it's really been a home run lineup for them and I'd also say to you uh that they've even thought of that one they have that one unit that's only 70 in tall which the trend now when you're doing C up Refrigeration is your space should be 36 in wide by 72 in opening height um but before this new trend of going a 72 70 was a very common size and they still haven't forgotten about that and they do have one counter depth uh that goes to 70 it's not there it has one compressor it doesn't have all the fit and feeling feature but it's still a good looking fridge and if you're stuck with 70 it's as good as anyone else out there definitely good for replacement like you said they have a few other options too you can do they have options with the external drawer if you want a separate temperature control drawer as well regular three doors with kind of the the two doors and the the drawer underneath so they do give you a lot of different options there as well correct so now the last brand we're going to talk about so the last brand to consider for uh freestanding counter depth GE so a lot there with GE Big Brand yeah so I'm going to tell you solid refrigerator M I'm not no no Superior Innovation there but a solid tried and true refrigerator um they have some Innovation with lighting they have a light wall that they had in select series uh their Modern Glass series kind of introduced it in some of their undercounter Refrigeration where the back wall is really it's it's beautiful if you haven't seen it I mean it's something honestly I do sometimes while I'm not on the floor as often as I used to be when I go out there I will always watch when someone opens one of these uh in G because they no one would open that and not be like wowy I mean it really is something and and lighting inside a refrigerator is key because this whole back wall is lit and it's very classically done with some little design on it but it uh you know food blocks everything so when you have lights on the side depending your fridge can get very dark this is kind of a cool way to do it um so while not that's Innovation I don't I wouldn't say anything else is Earth shattering because it's not it's as good as anyone else you know I think the Bosch and the LG are going in some different directions with the ultrax and and and some of that but where they kind of shine is finishes so they they kind of have a look for anyone so we talked about a modern glass which is just that no handles very clean yeah modern look glass over stainless steel kind of look kind of a graphite back like it's it's a it's a site and they do that sweeted and then for the rest of their CED up Refrigeration you have it in profile and you have it in Cafe and we know what you eat Cafe the cool part there is uh stainless Ste but certainly a lot of colors and mixed metal finishes for handles so you can really kind of if you want kind of a that customized look that was always only for that exclusive price point of really really really expensive you can do this very affordably and have fun playing around with colors uh whether it's matte white matte black you know they have uh they're always mixing a new color in the new year um you know as well as stainless uh they kind of give you some flexibility and I think now I think it's almost six or eight different types of mixed Metals you can use for handles so that's kind of fun and then you get into profile um you know kind of a goodlook neutral fridge handles kind of transitional goes with anything and a value line like it has it generally is a good price point yeah they'll give you a lot of different options a lot of different price points within all their lines for sure a lot to consider there now the minute this post goes live some of them will say well GE has a cur ice maker in the front of their refrigerator either incredibly brilliant or incredibly dumb because we know that those things break a lot and they only make a spite amount of coffee cup coffee but they do that also with an instant hot so if you're a big tea drinker I mean that is cool Innovation some it's Unique for sure I'll tell you we sell some yeah but some are small double digits very small just over singles so it's it's Innovative but I don't know I think it's going to run away with it fair enough so those are going to be all the Best Brands to consider for counter depth Refrigeration so if you're looking we definitely strongly recommend looking at LG Bosch and GE and don't forget to follow us on social media for appliance tips and updates from y Appliance your feedback is what shapes our series like what you saw give us a thumbs up share it with with your friends and drop your thoughts in the comments below we love hearing from you stay informed and inspired on all your Appliance needs this is Appliance advisors signing off

Channel: Appliance Advisers

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Keywords: Best Counter-Depth Refrigerator Brands for 2024, Best Counter-Depth Refrigerator Brands, Best Counter-Depth Refrigerators, Best Counter-Depth Refrigerator, Best Counter-Depth Refrigerator Brand for 2024, Best Counter-Depth Refrigerator Brand, Counter-Depth Refrigerator Brands for 2024, Counter-Depth Refrigerator Brands, Counter-Depth Refrigerator Brand, Counter-Depth Refrigerators, Counter-Depth Refrigerator review, Counter-Depth Refrigerator

Id: JdA4NWzQRNU

Length: 14min 39sec (879 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 30 2024