Frigidaire FGID2476SF review – CNET

After running a cycle with the heat dry option turned on, I opened the $850 Frigidaire FGID2476SF and was surprised to find the dishes cool to the touch. I examined the plates and bowls that comprise our set of testing dishes and found very few water spots and only the occasional missed droplet. Frigidaire’s new EvenDry feature did its job well. But when you compare it to other dishwashers we’ve tested, it’s not the best. In fact, this $700 LG and this $400 GE both did better on their respective power dry tests.

The Frigidaire FGID2476SF’s power dry scores epitomize the rest of the dishwasher’s issues. It’s competent at cleaning, has a fine mix of cycles and a couple of nice extras like a smudge-proof stainless finish and great wine stem holders. But it’s not the best at anything it does. It’s not the best value, best cleaner or most feature rich. Head here for our current list of favorites. If those aren’t available at your local retailer and the FGID2476SF is on sale, it’s competent and worth your consideration.

Stylish design

The FGID2476SF has a lot of niceties I’ve come to expect from dishwashers in the Frigidaire Gallery series. The smudgeproof stainless finish looks great and does well to resist fingerprints. The stem holders securely kept our wine glasses in place. The upper rack raises and lowers a couple of inches with a simple lift. Plus, the blue wheel of jets at the bottom — called OrbitClean — gets water into the nooks of your dishes and avoids missed spots.

Otherwise, this $850 model rounds out its features with six different cycles — Heavy, Normal, 30 Minute Wash, China Crystal, Energy Saver and Rinse Only. It runs at a reasonably quiet 51 dB and holds as many as 14 place settings. I’ll attest that we were comfortably able to load our test set of 10 place settings.

A couple of other extras also stand out. The EvenDry feature is a new addition to Frigidaire models this year. EvenDry uses a fan to circulate heat that’s similar to a convection fan in an oven. The FGID2476SF also has a “Stay-in-Place” door. As you’d expect, you can open the door of the FGID2476SF and set it to whatever angle you want, and it’ll stay put. I liked this little extra, and it’s a nice touch if you want to open your door a certain way at the end of a cycle to let out the steam.

You can buy the $850 Frigidaire FGID2476SF now from Home Depot, Best Buy, Sears and other large appliance retailers. I’m a big fan of the smudge-proof stainless finish, but you can also find it in black or white for $20 less. Head to Frigidaire’s site to find retailers in your area. As usual with large appliances, look for a discount off of the list price. Home Depot has it right now for $640.

Comparatively sparse

Several of the specs of the FGID2476SF fall short of the comparable $700 LG LDF5545ST, which has room for 15 place settings, offers nine cycles, and runs even quieter at 48 dB. The LG LDF5545ST also has a few creative options you can add onto your cycle, such as washing only half of the dishwasher at a time or turning the water pressure up for your dishes on the lower rack while gently spraying the upper rack.

The FGID2476SF has a few options itself, but they’re all pretty basic. The water pressure options are confusingly worded — you pick between scour, surge and spray, which are essentially high, medium and low. The FGID2476SF has a stainless tub and hidden control panel which are nice for the price, but I wish it had a third rack, specialized water jets, Wi-Fi smarts or something else to help it stand out. The $600 GE GDF610PMJES is much more feature-rich and costs less.