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  • Design & Usability

  • Performance

  • The Decision

  • The Cold Hard Facts

  • Temperature Performance

  • Moisture Retention

  • Freezing & Thawing

  • Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

  • Design & Usability
  • Performance
  • The Decision
  • The Cold Hard Facts
  • Temperature Performance
  • Moisture Retention
  • Freezing & Thawing
  • Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

Design & Usability

Incredibly user-friendly

The LG LFX25991ST is one of the most user-friendly counter-depth fridges we've seen. As a French door, fresh food is right there in front of you at eye-level, and as a counter-depth, shelves don't go too far back. It's got a funky collapsible shelf, and the others can be moved to create your own custom fridge setup. Though the main cavity doesn't seem that spacious, the door has plenty of storage—there's even a dedicated spot for gallon jugs.

When it comes to design, this fridge feels decidedly high-end in everyday operation. Its depth means it's designed to blend into a kitchen, though not quite as seamlessly as a built-in. The crisper drawers slide smoothly, the door is easy to open, and attention has been paid to the details. My only complaint was that casual apostrophe on the "Glide 'N Serve" drawer. I don't want my appliances getting too familiar.

Aside from my linguistic hangups, there's little else to annoy the user. As with all French doors, the freezer drawer required bending down, though this one's middle drawer did stick a bit. The ice and water dispenser's paddles are a little bizarre in the way they pivot from the bottom—not the top—but it's nice to have individual paddles for each, and not have to any more buttons than necessary.

The features list isn't particularly long, but it's got what you'd expect from a fridge in this price range. Air and water filters, in-door icemaker, dual paddles over a tall dispenser, and a pretty bluish interior light round out the spec sheet.

{{ gallery "vanity", "design" }}

Performance

The fridge could stand to learn something from the freezer.

In our lab tests, our food substitutes averaged slightly higher temperatures than the fridge's indicated temperature setting. The consistency of the fridge temperatures over time also left something to be desired, but we did see the top stay cooler than the crisper drawers, a deviation we welcome since dairy should be kept colder than spinach. Speaking of spinach and other leafy greens, you can rest easy knowing the crisper drawers will keep them from wilting away.

Down in the drawer freezer, the temperatures we recorded hit the thermostat setting of 0°F right on the nose, and kept fluctuations to a minimum. That's the perfect recipe for reducing the likelihood of freezer burn. In our freezing test, room temperature items froze quickly, proving that the freezer is as powerful as it is consistent.

For in-depth performance information, please visit the Science Page.

The Decision

You'll be even happier if you wait for a sale.

For the most part, this fridge is a joy to use, and we think it's aesthetically pleasing. The LG LFX25991ST's price and fridge performance constitute our only major hangups, but we haven't tested any counter depths that really wow us. Dacor sells a solid alternative if this LG's high price gives you pause. But if you need a counter-depth and can find a sale price, the LFX25991ST is a good choice.

The Cold Hard Facts

With all the opinions on the front page, it's no wonder you want to know where they come from. Well, we make our extensive testing no secret, so check out some of this fridge's lab test results below.

Temperature Performance

The LG's fridge averaged 38.6°F, just a degree and a half above the thermostat setting of 37°F. At the top and middle of the cavity, temperatures averaged 38.0°F, and the bottom sensor averaged 39.8°F. The deviation might seem like a negative thing, but it's not a bad thing to have the fridge's lower third be slightly warmer, since you shouldn't keep most produce that cold. The fridge did, however, spend a decent amount of time fluctuating away from those averages, as we recorded a variance of 3°F in sensors put in the top and middle of the fridge cavity.

While the fridge wasn't particularly impressive outside of its shallow depth, the freezer did everything right. During the testing period, the freezer averaged 0.23°F against a 0°F temperatures setting, hitting it right on the nose. It also stayed cool and consistent: We recorded an average deviation of just 0.13°F. That's the kind of precision that minimizes freezer burn.

Moisture Retention

The drawers' humidity controls successfully locked in the moisture, losing only 0.15 grams of moisture per hour. Evaporation happens even at temperatures this cold, and moisture loss will take the life out of your leafy greens. Of course, if you don't want moisture in there, you can dial the control to the fruit setting, which will turn the crisper drawer into a regular refrigerator drawer.

Freezing & Thawing

The freezer brought our food substitutes under 32°F in just an hour and 29 minutes, an impressive time for 500g of food. When we pulled the plug on the fridge, the freezer almost stayed below 32°F for 36 hours, but dipped above right before the test completed. It's a test that most fridges ace, but this LG has to settle for almost.

Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

The spec sheet lists 16.7 cubic feet in the fridge and 7.8 cubic feet in the freezer. Clearly not all of that is usable—that number is calculated from total volume—so we counted the space that you'd actually use and measured 10.4 cubic feet in the fridge and 4.2 in the freezer. It's not huge—it's a counter-depth—but there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of wasted space in this LG.

This LG used only three kilowatt hours in three days. For the average American, that should cost about $2.80 per month. When you stack its power usage against its usable space, the LFX25991ST turns out to be a very green fridge.

Meet the tester

Ethan Wolff-Mann

Ethan Wolff-Mann

Staff Writer

@ethanwolffmann

Ethan writes reviews and articles about science for Reviewed.com, and edits the Science Blog. He's originally from Vermont and thinks the bicycle and guitar are examples of perfected technology. Prior to Reviewed.com, he studied furiously at Middlebury College.

See all of Ethan Wolff-Mann's reviews

Checking our work.

Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.

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