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  • Not Your Average Water Dispenser

  • Normal Looks for a Unique Fridge

  • Good Food Preservation

  • Related content

  • Why We Like It

  • Related Video

  • Not Your Average Water Dispenser
  • Normal Looks for a Unique Fridge
  • Good Food Preservation
  • Related content
  • Why We Like It
  • Related Video

Open that door, however, and you'll find a neat feature: A self-filling water pitcher that slides into place on the top shelf. Instead of filling a glass at a time, you can bring a whole 74 oz. pitcher of filtered water to the dinner table. The innovation came out of GE's FirstBuild microfactory in Louisville, KY, and it marks the first time we've ever seen such a feature on a fridge.

Hydration aside, this GE is a fine fridge for its sub-$800 sale price: It did a good job preserving fresh and frozen foods in our lab tests, it has plenty of usable interior space, and it's energy efficient.

Not Your Average Water Dispenser

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the GAS18P series is GE’s new Autofill pitcher. We've already talked about how it works, but now we've spent a few weeks with it—and we like it.

A pitcher full of always-cold, always-filtered water is pretty useful.

As long as you already have a water hookup for a fridge in your kitchen, all you have to do is connect a hose between the water inlet and this refrigerator. The water filter is in the fridge, so the pitcher has more room for water than the average Brita or Pur.

The pitcher has to slide into a specific slot for it to refill, which tells a magnetic sensor to fill it with water. Once the pitcher is full, a floating switch shuts the water off. We eventually got the hang of fitting the pitcher into its slot by feel—and we never had any issues with leaks or spills.

It turns out that a pitcher full of always-cold, always-filtered water is pretty useful. We were particularly impressed with the pitcher's filling speed, which we timed at just under a minute. That's a lot faster than the trickle of a Brita or Pur.

We also preferred opening the fridge door and finding a full pitcher to waiting for one to fill from the sink or a through-the-door dispenser. In fact, in a lab full of fridges with traditional water dispensers, our testers preferred to refill their own glasses with water from the pitcher.

Normal Looks for a Unique Fridge

Aside from the water feature, this GE is otherwise a pretty plain fridge. There's no icemaker, and the inside of the fridge is lit by a dim incandescent bulb—a bit of a throwback, considering how many modern fridges have smaller, brighter LEDs. Even less impressive: There's no light at all in the freezer.

Still, there's plenty of usable space (the pitcher takes up about a cubic foot), and we found room for large items like milk up on the top shelf. Like most top-freezers, the GAS18P's door hinges are reversible. It comes in both white and stainless, though the stainless finish comes covered in a protective blue film that was exceptionally hard for us to remove.

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GE offers standard one-year limited and labor coverage for this American-made fridge. You can read more about the warranty—and installation of the water pitcher—in the user manual. If that pitcher assembly breaks, you can buy a new one for $110. That's a lot more than a Brita—but less than it would cost to fix a broken through-the-door water dispenser.

Good Food Preservation

On the whole, our lab tests show that the GAS18P fridge does a fine job cooling food—especially when compared to fridges in its price range. In our extensive lab tests, our thermocouples recorded even temperatures over time in both the fridge and freezer, and our crisper drawer tests showed decent moisture retention. That means your frozen food won't end up with freezer burn, and your fresh produce won't dry out prematurely.

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Like most top freezers, this GE runs a bit warm on the manufacturer-recommended settings. Because the thermostat has a vague sliding scale on its control dial instead of exact temperatures, you may have to play with it to get the temperature right.

Eco-conscious consumers will be happy to know that it’s quite energy efficient.

The GE GAS18P fridge uses a vague dial thermostat. Turn it down a bit below the recommended mark for optimal temperatures.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Matthew Zahnzinger

This fridge uses a vague dial thermostat. Turn it down a bit below the recommended mark for optimal temperatures.

Why We Like It

Until you open the door, you'd be forgiven for thinking the GE GAS18P series refrigerator is just another humdrum home appliance. But a few extras and good performance help it stand out in a crowded field.

Even if the addition of the Autofill water pitcher isn't life-changing, it does demonstrate that innovation can come in affordable packages. Features aside, we're fans of how this fridge will treat your food, and the price is also right. If you need a basic fridge with some not-so-basic perks, this GE should be on your list.

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Meet the tester

Matthew Zahnzinger

Matthew Zahnzinger

Logistics Manager & Staff Writer

@ReviewedHome

Matthew is a native of Brockton, MA and a graduate of Northeastern, where he earned a degree in English and Theatre. He has also studied at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and spends most of his free time pursuing a performance career in the greater Boston area.

See all of Matthew Zahnzinger's reviews

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