Hi Julieste, They leak, make noise and can let dirt into the freezer. Ide say youre better without them, and you can always do the ice maker inside the freezer. It also keeps the doors looking cleaner withoout the notch for ice/ water :-) Ds

Also, let me ask, what size unit are you looking at?
I had a house with a subzero, and it was a great unit, although super ridiculously priced. If you’re in need of a cabinet depth unit there are some other options at about half the price. Ive used the KitchenAid, GE profile, and, of course, sticking with the American brands is always easier to find parts. The one thing I learned about subzero is there is one factory repair place in LA so we’re really hostage to their service fees. Basically, it all depends on your budget, and, of course size needed. Let me know if I could be of any help. :-). Darren

We actually bought an LG because we wanted a simple non french door fridge with no water/ice on door. it was hard to find!! i like ice/water on door for young kids but i have no issue without it. deli drawer just sounds annoying to me - i like being able to see everything at once in fridge. never had one though and i would avoid if possible.

I have a specific size opening that the fridge has to fit in. I need full depth and a pretty standard size fridge which eliminates specialty fridges like Sub zero (and I don't want to pay that much).

And, as I mentioned previously, LG is not a brand I would consider again.

We have never had water in the door so can't compare, but I like the internal water more than I thought I would. My only issue is that it splashes on the interior floor of the fridge sometimes--but I've had the same issue with door dispensers at other people's homes, so it may just come with the territory. We had not previously had ice or water and wanted the option to just turn them off if they break or we decide not to use them, so it didn't make sense to have them in the door.

We have a model with a separate produce drawer (can be set for deli too). I'm lukewarm on it--it's fine, but probably wasn't necessary. But it also wasn't super costly relative to the overall cost, so not a huge deal. I was convinced by another shopper at the showroom telling me it would reduce the wear and tear on the french doors for our tweens because they could go straight to the drawer, but we don't really use it that way. A downside to the one we have (Bosch) is that you have to choose one temp/humidity setting for the whole drawer, whereas with the internal produce drawers, you can set them separately.

I have a new Kitchenaid fridge and the shelves do not touch the back wall of the fridge. There is a gap, large enough for my hand to fit, between the back of the shelf and the back wall. Anything in the very back of the shelf does not sit flat because there isn’t anything to support the item. It’s a counter depth fridge, which you aren’t getting, but I mention this as a heads up so you can really look at that on any model you consider.

Looking at the empty fridge in the showroom I didn’t notice they skimped on the shelves. And it never occurred to me to specifically check that a shelf would meet the wall since I’ve never ssen a fridge that had a gap before.

I’ll adjust to the french doors but I wish I would have stayed with a single door fridge. I liked having all the condiments and whatever on one side/one place, and too often I have to open both doors. It has an internal ice maker but I didn’t hook that up. I just use trays for the little bit of ice I use.

Bottom line is I don’t have any ice advice but really look at the shelves on any brand. Maybe they’re all cutting them short to make them cheaper to manufacturer, or maybe its just Kitchenaid.

Good luck with your choice.

I’ve had two Samsung French door with outside water/ ice dispensers. Worthless. Now have LG side by side with double door on fridge side for quick access stuff. Water and ice outside too. Love it. Used the large pizza box trick when checking out models. Truth be known I don’t care for the messy look of the dispensers. Rather these be hidden.

I've never had a fancy fridge always used. 1 came with the house with bottom freezer was a whirlpool almond color designer style. We gave it to a friend after 15 yrs in our house. Was going to buy new but friend had a whirlpool fridge that was right size and bought it that had option for ice maker. It has top freezer. I too like my ice and would like it in the door and following your comments. I did splurge this year and have a water line put in and ice maker in my current fridge.  Pros I don't have to fill trays anymore!! ❤Cons, I can hear the water run in it and hear the ice drop in the bucket.  The fridge is a 2010 model. It's running well.  I would look in the future for something a bit quueter with options for cube or crushed ice. But is not a must have. My husband is not a fan of side by sides and the French doors I have looked at seem like they lack storage on inside of doors.So brands I would recommend are Whirlpool. GE, and Maytag.  These brands actually make some other lines that are house brands for others. They have reasonably priced and acessible parts. They've been in business a long time. Our person who does our appliance repair, who will walk us how to do ourselves says NOT to get samsung and not a big fan of LG.Ultimately I'm a fan of whirlpool. Our dishwasher is whirlpool as well and very satisfied with it. If we ever do get new appliances as a whole package I will probably get whirlpool. As I have had little to no problems.

Had water and ice on the door. loved it. got a new fridge with water dispenser inside and ice in a bin in the freezer. It has SO MUCH more ROOM inside! We love the door with space for milk, wine, salad dressings.

We have a medium space for the fridge, can’t make it bigger, but losing the outside dispenser made the inside much more spacious.

I've got a FD KitchenAid 36" Architect II in my garage right now. Beautiful unit. I did have Whirlpool out to add some caulk around the freezer gasket. Known issue. Easy fix I could have done myself. That was done under warranty. Other than that no issues. It's six or seven years old at this point. I've got a working 22 year-old KA built-in with icemaker that I'm getting ready to replace only because we are updating the kitchen, it's nearer the end of it's life and the wait times for a new unit for such a large space are ridiculous. Neither of them have given me any any trouble. The water dispenser in the 36" FD and both ice dispensers have never given any trouble. I'd recommend the 36" FD KA for your purposes. P.S. My shelves go all the way to the back.

Have had both. I like my current configuration, which is a Jenn Air French door with inside water dispenser and ice in the drawer. Fingers crossed, we haven’t had any issues in six years (have had multiple issues with the other Jenn air appliances though, so wouldn’t recommend their DW or wall ovens). Had an Electrolux French door in a previous home and the ice maker broke four times in almost as many years. First two times were under warranty, the third we paid for replacement, and fourth we just ignored and bought a countertop ice maker. Repairman told me at the time Electrolux ice makers were especially bad. My mom had an in-door dispenser that froze up frequently (don’t recall what brand it was). She would have to get a hair dryer and blow the door until it unfroze. You do get a lot more storage space in the interior without the door dispenser. With any brand, the ice maker is usually the problem. Home warranty companies generally charge an add on fee to include the ice maker. We have a Frigidaire with in-door water/ice in one of our rentals. Ice maker broke within a month of purchase, which was covered by warranty. It’s been fine since then (7 years).

I also just had an LG compressor fail at the five-year mark. hmmm. Our last two LG fridges were garbage, I refuse to buy another. And ice dispensers have always been problematic for me so I decided to forego one this time.

I use a Brita pitcher for water and have a scoop in my automatic ice maker to make grabbing it easier. It's fine for DH and me. Not sure how I would feel if we still had kids at home. For instance, I imagine going to the fridge for cold filtered water and seeing 7 drops left in the pitcher.

Our last fridge had a bottom freezer, which I really liked given its easy access and better storage. This house had a Jenn-Air when we moved in (14 years ago and still ok🤞) with water/ice in door. At first we were thrilled, but over time found the waiting, the ice on floor, and more often than not needing more than a few cubes we ended up scooping ice from inside. In regards to water, I much prefer a Brita for its better filtration (taste a difference from fridge) and the convenience when needing more than a glass or two, as everyone we know drink lots of water, so having the Brita simplifies things.

You have given me a lot to think about! When I discovered my current LG's failure I had been out of town and came home to a warmish fridge and a thawed freezer section. When it replaced the compressor, LG made a temporary fix that lasted about a week. Next time it happened I got up one morning and noticed that the ice maker didn't have any ice in it. As the ice maker thawed, some of it had gone on to my hardwood floor. So, having had this happen once, I am especially worried about having the kitchen hardwood floors and the finished basement ceiling beneath the kitchen be damaged by a fridge problem.

The estimated life of a fridge is supposedly 13 years. Obviously, at 5 years I got burned with the LG. Now that I have been burned by a defective fridge once, I am carefully looking at all of my options.

FWIW, I've been to several different appliance stores, and (if cost isn't an issue) all salespeople have recommended the Café as a top pick. My problem, of course, is that they aren't readily available.

Check Yale Appliance online as they do lots of reviews of which of what they sell has the fewest repairs.

I have had my Bosch (although it's an integrated fridge) for 5 years now and am very pleased with it. My last fridge had in the door ice and water and my DH gave me a hard time about not having it with this fridge. 5 years in and he has no issue with it. The icemaker is in the freezer and drops the ice into a bin.

Maybe I am wrong, I thought the purpose of the shelves not touching the back or sides of the refrigerator is to allow for air to circulate (because if they could, some would completely fill the shelves)? That’s why generally the number of square feet they tell you is really not accurate. The same for freezers that have diagonally sloping backs to fit over a compressor or other things, or an oven which also needs a perimeter margin around the shelves.

Water destroying hardwood floors is why I was so happy to find the Liebherr. Ours is non-plumbed, so the most water you could lose is one container. We travel for several months, so a broken water supply line could be a real problem.

“Looking at the empty fridge in the showroom I didn’t notice they skimped on the shelves.”

The sales woman actually pointed that out to me with our new KitchenAid. However, it hasn’t been an issue.

“The estimated life of a fridge is supposedly 13 years.”

I’d consider that to be generous considering the quality of most appliances these days. Though not a fridge, our Whirlpool washer died after just 4 years. A couple sales people told me to expect 5-10 years from a new washer. One told me to cross my fingers and toes after 5 years.

Ours is non-plumbed, so the most water you could lose is one container. We travel for several months, so a broken water supply line could be a real problem.

When we travel, we empty the ice bin and turn it off so it doesn't make anymore ice.

Actually, when researching how badly I had gotten screwed with the LG, I found a couple different sources referring to about a 13 year expected lifespan.

This entire article is very helpful because it discusses consumer rights for appliances.

https://www.elliott.org/ultimate-consumer-guides-smart-travelers/the-ultimate-guide-to-getting-a-repair-replacement-or-refund-for-your-broken-appliance/

https://www.bobvila.com/slideshow/this-is-how-long-each-of-your-major-appliances-should-last-52614

i just moved into a house that has water/ice dispenser in door and I HATE it! this is my first non SZ fridge and I can’t wait to get rid of this entire kitchen but budget doesn’t allow for now. water/ice dispensers are fine if you have a dog to lap up the water and ice on the floor.

I've had a KitchenAid french door bottom mount with inside deli drawer the last 5 years. It's fine, I neither love nor dislike it. I wanted a sleeker cleaner look than ice or water through the door and they are both inside. That works out well for us.

It keeps cold foods cold, frozen foods frozen. We did initially have a small issue with the deli drawer, the instinctive move when wanting something from that drawer is to lift the lid. A wrong move, the lid will come off in your hand more often than not. The motion of opening the drawer lifts the lid....we're reasonably competent two adults but it took a couple of weeks to get used to that.

I'm not quite convinced it holds the same amount of food with its layout as the Amana with the same interior capacity (single door, spacious bottom mount freezer) that it replaced would hold.

But I have another refrigerator in the garage and can use that for desserts, salads if cooking for an event and needing extra space or space for Costco overflow.

When my 1samsung died after 8 years the repairman that came out who had been in the business for 40 years told me to stick with brands that had been making fridges for 50 years. Kitchen Aid, Whirlpool, GE etc. He also said to not get one with the ice maker built into the door.

“…told me to stick with brands that had been making fridges for 50 years. Kitchen Aid, Whirlpool, GE etc.”

Exactly what the repairman who came to look at our old fridge told me. He’d just bought a new KA fridge himself.

Something interesting I remember. The technician that came to look at our washing machine some years ago pointed to our Frigidaire fridge as he was leaving. He said, ”THIS will be your next problem.” He was right! I asked him what I should replace it with when the time came. His comment was, ”Personally, I’d go with KitchenAid.” I do realize another technician might disagree, and, again, there are bad reviews about everything.

I think your repairman gave you some good advice. FWIW, salespeople at several different independent stores told me to steer clear of Samsung & LG.

julieste, I did replace our Whirlpool washer with an LG. Not because I wanted LG, but it fit my needs. That was exactly 7 years ago today, so my fingers and toes are often crossed. Gotta say, the LG has lasted longer than the Whirlpool did. Our daughter’s Samsung washer is going on 13 years. Who knows!

I have had better experiences with LG and Samsung than with many other brands. Bought LG washer/dryer more than 15 years ago. They have been in a rental house for the last 7 years after I used them. Still working well. Samsung dishwasher and range in same place for last 7 years doing great. Meanwhile, my Jenn Air DW has been repaired three times in the last 6 years and it doesn’t clean as well as the Samsung. Have never had Samsung or LG Fridge so can’t add to the convo on that.

I have a Whirlpool 24.5 cu foot fridge with ice/water in the door AND exterior deli drawer. Actually it is my second one; the first died after about five years. It is full sized, not counter depth which I would prefer but you cant find one with that configuration. I would miss the ice/water dispenser and the exterior deli drawer is totally necessary. I use it for fresh produce and it stays full.

It sells in my area for about 2K at the big box stores when they have regular holiday sales.

I've had both and for our new house under construction will buy a fridge without a door dispenser.

Cons of door dispenser: Loud. Takes up otherwise usable space inside. Ice jammed in the chute falls out at a later time, leaving melted puddles on the floor.

Living with a door dispenser fridge right now and it has all of these problem. My previous fridge did not have an external dispenser-- Jenn Air counter-depth panel-ready French door, purchased in 2006 and still functioning well when I sold the home in 2019, although I did have to replace the ice maker once. It had an internal water dispenser in the fridge (with filter, of course).

My next fridge will not have a door dispenser. Would have loved a 42" Sub Zero French door unit but it's just not in the budget and I don't want to wait a year for it. I'm not at all excited by any of the choices available to me-- they all have their flaws-- but I'm probably going to go with a Bosch 800 series, B36CT80SNS. https://www.bosch-home.com/us/productslist/refrigerators/fridge-freezers/freestanding-fridge-freezers-with-freezer-at-bottom/B36CT80SNS#

I really dislike the handles on the Bosch appliances though. Why don't they use a plain round "pro-style" handle? :(

Our fridge died during the pandemic and we had to take what we could get. I wanted a french door/freezer on the bottom unit. After many months of waiting a model came in that had a door water dispenser and we bought it. I tried to like the water dispenser but ultimately we stopped using it for these reasons : 1. needed to buy filters and I don't need one more thing to keep track of 2. first glass out isn't cold so you have to walk it to the sink and dump it 3. glasses are kept next to the sink so it's just easier to drink water from the tap. Yes, they are all trivial reasons but it was more of a nuisance to use it.

Yes.

"I really dislike the handles on the Bosch appliances though."

@Jane Doe - if it will make you feel any better, we often see posts on this forum with concerns about appliance handles. But the reality is that no one actually notices them, and you won't either after a couple of days. Here is my test to ask yourself: "quick - think of your friends' and relatives' kitchens. What do their appliances handles look like?" I have yet to find anyone who can remember, and some even can't think of their own kitchens' appliances handles haha.

My biggest issue with the exterior water/ice dispenser was when we had company. There was always a wet floor by the fridge. It wasn’t much of a problem with just the two of us. That being said, I much prefer our new fridge with interior water dispenser and ice cube bin.

As I shop something I am finding is that it is easier said than done to find a quality, standard size (however non-SZ type) without the in-door water and ice. Maybe people who are looking for a counter depth or odd height can find these, but there aren't many for to replace a standard depth 36" fridge.

I've appreciated all of your thoughtful responses.

julieste, do let us know how it goes. Our cabinet opening for a fridge is 36” x 72” (25” depth), so it was pretty easy to find the right size counter depth. However, I can totally understand your issue. You’d think there would still be plenty of choices for a standard depth.

@cpartist

Where do you turn the water off? Both my mother and a neighbor had the plastic water line to the icemaker leak and ruin the floor. That would keep running unless you turn it off at its source.

When we added a water line for our new refrigerator earlier this year, I had our plumber put in an easily-accessible shutoff for the water in our basement that we could use to cut water completely without pulling the refrigerator out. I think that would be easy to retrofit if you have accessible water lines. (There is also the required shutoff in the box behind the refrigerator, but I really didn't want to have to get to that.)

We too put the water shutoff behind the fridge when we did our kitchen remodel. We're building a new house now and we're planning on putting the fridge water shutoff under the sink where you can actually get to it.

Latifolia, Ill ask my DH as he is the one to turn it off. I think its under our sink

i didn't have either; didn't miss it. had ice cube trays in freezer and filtered water in a pitcher in the fridge. Also, if you (still) have a Sears appliance outlet nearby, that's a good place to find various refrigerators. ps - my fridge was a Samsung from Lowes. less than full size due to space restriction. it was good!

After spending a gazillion hours researching and shopping, I just ordered a Bosch from the 500 series (the series that has dimensions to fit regular size replacement openings). Right now Costco has a fabulous deal on this model, and it's even better since their already low price includes free delivery, installation and haul away.

https://www.costco.com/bosch-500-series-26-cu.-ft.--bottom-mount-french-door-refrigerator-with-quickicepro-and-home-connect-wi-fi.product.4000109808.html

I made my decision independent of the sales price and would have been willing to pay more, but there is just nothing out there that met my needs/wants.

I ended up getting water and ice in the door again but did forego the exterior deli drawer I had on the dead LG. If there had been a model that didn't have the water and ice on the door, I would have been fine with that too but there is nothing out there in a full size fridge that met my other wants.

Congrats on the decision! FWIW we have had the 800 series for about four months and have been happy with it--and though we do have the deli drawer, I don't think I'd get it again so I think you'll be fine without it. My only bone to pick with it is that the stainless steel is a magnet for fingerprints, but I don't know that that's Bosch-specific. (I solved for that by plastering it with holiday cards and artwork, but obviously that's not everyone's jam!)

FWIW we had to return our Bosch 500 series with the water/ice dispenser in the door, it leaked! The applicance store said we weren't the first. We traded up to an 800 series, french door, with freezer on the botton, and crisper door. Much better refrigerator.

I would have been very interested in the 800 series, but my opening is an inch too short for those. And, five years ago when I bought the LG, we had to raise the upper cabinet to get the LG to fit in; I don't want to go through that again. I honestly think these appliance manufacturers change their dimensions just enough that people are forced into remodeling.

We remodeled in part because our 1940s era refrigerator cubby wouldn’t fit anything modern, so I feel your pain! (I designed an adjustable shelf for our enclosure to let it go from 67” to 84” to hopefully avoid that ever again! Though we will be stuck if 36” falls out of favor for width…)

Love my Bosch with the ice maker in the freezer and water in the fridge. The nice thing about it is you can remove the ice tray and fill up the entire drawer if you are in need of lots of ice for a party or something, It just needs a bit of lead up time. Ours makes tons of ice. It has the deli drawer but I use that for veggies because we eat a lot of them.

Glad you found one that fits what you need…looks good!

We also went the other route with the Bosch and got a smaller ice bin to replace the one it came with, since we apparently don't use as much ice as other people--I also love that you can do that and it just adjusts how much ice it makes!

Another vote for Bosch with the ice maker in the bottom freezer which dumps ice into a removeable bucket. Convenient for carrying the ice to the table or cooler chest. Easy to wash. Always fresh.