There are some older threads with the same question....unfortunately these are few and far between.

Our top three list was:
- Electrolux
- Kitchen Aid
- Fisher & Paykel (water but no ice in door)

They all get decidedly mixed reviews, though---some lovers, some haters. Icemakers in particular seem to cause issues on the F&P and E'lux (see old threads on this) so some people don't even connect them. Nothing stuck out as especially reliable, sadly (though LG got some very negative reviews, as I recall---they may have fixed the issues since then). Samsung also has one, but we didn't like the style. We did not look closely at Frigidaire/Kenmore/GE/Whirlpool since we wanted white and did not like the styling of their white models or their wire basket freezers, so I can't say much about those, though I think their interpretation of "counter-depth" was deeper than the three above, another reason we ruled them out. Check the actual depth, as it seems to vary from 24" for the carcass on the shallowest to 26"-27" (hardly seems fair to call that "counter-depth"---our current standard depth fridge has a 27" deep carcass!)

If you find another one, would love to know as we have another week or so before actually buying ours... ;) (Right now we plan to go with the single-door Fisher & Paykel, which we at least like the design of very much, so fingers crossed on performance!)

(Oh, and you can find the other threads much more easily by searching on Google instead of on GW---just add "site:ths.gardenweb.com" to the beginning of your search term!)

We wanted Samsung, but it did not come without ice/water in the door. We wanted a plain front. Kitchen Aid makes a great looking unit, and from the reviews I've read so far, it sounds good. They make a 69" tall and a 72" tall version of counter depth. The 72" fridge has a great bottom freezer with 3 racks instead of 2. We've decided to buy it, as we've always had good luck with KA appliances. Hope this helps.

I own the GE Monogram counter depth fridge. I HATE it have had 1 service call to the tune of well over 2 thousand dollars and on Saturday it freaked out and poured water all over my hardwood kitchen floor.

I have an Electrolux and love it. It is the basic french door counter depth model. No external ice/water but it does have an interal ice maker. I would definitely buy this fridge again. The size is great for a family of four and it looks very nice.

I believe we have the same Elux model that SVS128 has... the cool zone drawer option model that ends in 36. We are enjoying this one. As posted elsewhere, we did have some problems with the first unit but have chalked that up to bad luck since it was replaced with a bit of effort on our part.

We enjoy the amount of space for fresh produce and easy access to items in the frig. The freezer is something that we are still learning to pack. We do use lots of soft packaged items that sometimes fall behind the drawer onto the freezer bottom thus requiring a reach in to grab it.

Overall, I would give this frig a good recommendation. It is not the cheapest one out there. But it was the only one that we found for less than $3k, that didn't have an opening in the produce drawers which makes it impossible to control humidity in there.

We did buy ours in late January of this year when Elux was offering 10% off of their products. Will they do it again in 2011?? Worth asking about! ;;)

We did look at the FP and liked the layout aspect but felt it was too small overall for us. The KAs that we tested didn't have good drawer interaction for us in addition to having the drawers with holes.

Try out each frig by imagining where you would put normal items and see how the frig works for you. Also keep in mind that frig companies change heights of their models over the years and to keep some flexibility in that space if you are remodeling.

Good Luck!

On the KitchenAid, definitely look at the 72" model. When we first started looking, there was a $1K difference in price, but the gap has since closed and I want to say it was only $400 more (and now under $3K, which it wasn't a year ago)---the interior of the 72" version is *far* better designed than the 69" model, without the freezer issues and with much better glides on the drawers.

I also second testing out how you might use it. I got hung up on the size of the F&P (17 cu. ft.) for a long time before I checked the specs of our current fridge and realized it was 18 cu. ft., and we rarely fill it. That changed my thinking all together. (Conversely, if it had always been overflowing, I would have known to look at the bigger models. Our case is also a bit unique because we have a cooler cabinet, so many traditionally refrigerated foods go into that instead, and thus don't take up fridge space.)

We've had our new GE CAFE CD FD hooked up since mid Septemberish. So far the only complaint I have is that the fridge part sometimes freezes things... like, lettuce and leftover pasta. I turned the fridge temp up a couple degrees and it seems to have helped. This problem hasn't been bad enough, or noticeable enough for us to call in service, and we're otherwise happy with the new refrigerator. We didn't want ice and water dispensers on the door. It has a water dispenser inside on the left wall of the fridge (which we don't use), and it makes a lot of ice in the ice maker in the freezer (way more than we ever use. I have to dump the thing out every now and then, that's how little ice we use). We are a family of 2, so it's a good size for us. I'd say more than 2 people shouldn't get a CD FD refrigerator as they will not be happy with the size.

I too have the 72" KA. I've had it a year now and have had no issues. In my fridge search, my main requirement was no water/ice on the door and that's not easy to find. Another plus for the KA was the smooth moving tracks on the freezer pullout drawers. They moved much easier and seemed to be better quality than many of the others I looked at.

We also have the 72" KA. Okay but found it a bit noisey at times. Will look at electrolux next time.

We are considering the Jenn-Air JFC2290VEM. Still looking though. Same considerations: counter depth and no ice/water on front door. Will not be hooking up any water in interior even if included.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jenn-Air

We have the 72" KA also. The only noise ours makes is the sound of ice dropping into the bin (we have no ice/water on the door). Love it so far.

We went with the Jenn-Air 2290. It is 72" tall, without ice/water on door. The way the french door opens and closes has taken some getting use to. I think it works best to open the right side first. I had my heart set on a counter depth french door, so I think I blocked out of my mind how TINY the freezer really is. Now Im shopping for an extra freezer to keep in the basement. Oh the price of beauty!

I have the Kitchen Aid KSCS25FS Architect Series-II from about 4 years ago. We got it because we remodeled the kitchen and wanted a counter depth fridge. We got the bisque model at the time, since all the other appliances were already bisque, but this year we replaced the OTR Microwave and Dishwasher with stainless, so we'll continue that with the range and fridge down the road.

On the plus side, the KSCS25FS is 24.5 cu/ft and is tall enough so there is only a 1" gap at the top between it and the cabinet. The fridge and freezer do stay at the correct temps (37, 0) and I like the ice maker bucket on the door.
Now what I don't like....the ice dispenser is not designed well and ice is always getting backed-up in there, then falling onto the floor. The freezer compartment isn't very wide, and we have a hard time getting large items to fit. The ice maker also stopped working after only 2 years and had to be replaced per the extended warranty I purchased.

For the $1600 that this unit cost, it was a good price, and if we get another 3-5 years out of it I'll be happy. But eventually I'd replace it with stainless and another brand. It's just that right now KA/Whirlpool seem to be the only ones who make 72"H counter depth units.

Another positive experience with a Whirlpool counter depth refrigerator. We've had it for 10+ years (we bought it when Whirlpool first rolled out the "gold level" counter depth fridge in 1999. I paid about $1200 for it). Ours is a side-by-side. The ice maker water dispenser takes up approximately 1/4 of the freezer cabinet.

We had a major issue in 2005, which resulted in a $500 repair. But nothing since. Next time, we will not get the water/ice dispenser feature. Though it might save energy when you want ice on a hot day, it takes up so much space that I cannot see how it can be worth it. Interestingly, I do not see them sold at Big Box stores.

Good for Whirlpool/KA for keeping the 72" counter depth fridges in production. We do not miss the extra 6 inches of space. Food just gets lost back there.

Are there any more users that would like to update their experience with the KA Architect series CD fridges? We are looking at a CD side by side rather than the FD model primarily because we won't have access to the left side.

I purchased the KA CD FD 72" high model last fall and so far I really like it. I seriously looked at the Liebherr but in the end I really needed white not stainless - wish the Liebherr had come in white. Whilst I really liked the Liebherr produce drawers (much bigger than on the KA) I also like the split shelves on the KA that I can adjust as two columns. I thought this unit was vastly overpriced relative to the shorter model and the standard depth units, but I really liked the upgraded interior and the hidden hinges etc on the 72", and especially the better sliding produce drawers, so I sprung for it. It would be great if the produce drawers were were larger and deeper like on the Liebherr but I use the veggy green bags and store the extra produce on the glass shelf just above the drawers. It is reasonably quiet, but then I have it where the noise is not an issue in any case. The ice maker seems to work fine for us - but this is my first fridge with ice and so that is already a luxury for me. I could do without the water dispenser - the water tastes disgusting and plasticy. We do not use it and I wish it were not there. My ideal would be to have only the icemaker, no water! For me this was the best fridge outside the Liebherr. However, I could not justify the expense of the Libeherr when I would be compromising on the stainless vs the white.

Good luck!

24"wide fridges are all 24" counter depth or close to that.

We have CD Kenmore Elite French Door. Love it. Water on door, ice maker in freezer. I just can't imagine having no icemaker and going back to messing with ice trays. For me a self-cleaning oven and an icemaker are absolute necessities. I'm never ever going back to filling ice trays or the mess of oven cleaners (and yes, I have double KA ovens and have never had a problem with the self-cleaning in the 11 yrs I've had these ovens.)