Of course the drawers are removable, they have to be for servicing. Open the drawer, look just behind the front panel. There's a tab at each side that latches the rails to the drawer. Depress the tab carefully and slide the rail back a little to fully disengage it. Do the same on the other side. The drawer then lifts out of the cabinet and off the rails. To fully remove the drawer, there's a drain hose that must be detached from the pump, and a water line to disconnect from the water valve in the bottom of the cabinet, and a bundle of wires leading to the control board inside the front panel. The front panel is removed by pulling the lock pins and slipping the panel down. The pins are at each side just above the rail tabs. They look like something that would turn, but DO NOT TURN THEM. Pull them straight out. However, as I said, it's highly unlikely a refrigerator drawer or other such mechanism can be retrofitted into the space. Perhaps you could find a cabinetmaker to construct a storage drawer to fit on the rails. I also have to wonder what exactly is causing your repeated broken pump rotor. I have a DD 5 years old, never any repairs to it of any kind. I try to rotate between using the upper and lower on a regular basis, but have gone several months at a time without using the lower drawer. The upper and lower drawers have identical parts, so unless you're doing something abusive to the lower drawer there's no reason for it to break repeatedly if your upper drawer does not.

I purchased the dd603 apx 4-5 yrs ago apx$1300 and here is my experience. I use the machine apx 2x a week The first problem I had was that I pre washed some dishes before putting in the dishwasher and if any of the normal detergent got into the machine it caused the F1 error, so now I make sure I rinse well before putting in dishwasher. People have asked why I pre rinse some items before putting in dishwasher and the answer is i dont believe these models do well with heavily soiled items. The hoses are small and can get clogged the impellors are not tough on the discharge motor and can get damaged this is evidenced by many forum posts on different sites. The 2nd problem I had was due to putting an item that was to tall which prevented the lids from closing and causing the dreaded F1 code. I did purchase the extended warranty and when the tech came he told me what happened he also replaced all the common problems with this model faulty actuator motors and linkages which would have been a very expensive bill according to him over $400. Now I am on my 3rd problem which is the dreaded F1 code on both units and I have no leak so seems to be the flood sensor and board about $50 and hopefully no further damage do to the fact the machine had the motors going for many hours when I wasn't home before I turned the breaker off. This is my first dishwasher and bought mostly for looks and dual drawers seemed like a good idea. If one went bad the other should still work that is not the case at all. In all cases if there was a problem it took out both drawers. Conclusion If I was a heavy user of a washing machine I would never buy this machine again I dont believe they are designed for the American market and it feels like they have to be used carefully (which I have done) My ex girlfriend has a kitchen Aid purchased the same time mine was bought not sure which model and it has worked flawlessly She does not pre rinse uses it heavily and throws dishes with all kinds of crud on it something I would never do with the DD603 That being said the newest model dd605 supposedly has addressed many of the issues the previous models have had and if you are a careful user and like the idea of 2 drawers they might be your best bet. Repairs are expensive so the extended warranty should be looked at. In my case it paid off and still has problems outside the extended warranty period

Each drawer has a heating element. You can easily see it. Remove the rack, wash arm, drain filter, and the large stainless steel filter. The heating element is the circular ceramic disk that surrounds the pump impeller. If the heater is bad, the machine will throw a fault code and/or cycle progress will get stuck for a very long time in the main wash and/or final rinse when it's unable to reach the target temperature. You didn't say which cycle you normally use or which model is your DD (603 or 605). Depending on which model and revision is involved, Fast may be low as 115°F and Fast Eco 105°F. Household water temp has more of an effect in that case if it's already higher than the machine's target temp. If you have the standard model with LCD, I can tell you how to get a display of the internal water temperature while a cycle runs. The integrated model without LCD doesn't have the temperature diagnostic. I've gotten a milky-white residue on plastics a few times, such as on these dark blue lids. Seemed to happen when the detergent dose was a little skimpy, and for sure when the detergent I use (WM GreatValue) went phosphate-free. It *hasn't* happened any more since I've been adding STPP and using no less than 4 teaspoons detergent for the main wash.

OOOh! That's new! I'd go with the 24"er though. The cabinetry issue. The replacement. Never buy the first year model as they say in the car business--especially when you can't replace it with another model because it's an odd size. The single 24" drawer should be plenty for day-to-day use, especially if you get a tall one. Every week or so have the spouse throw a roasting pan in the bottom drawer.