Oh dadoes, I just saw your comment. I did get the specs and the DD requires 23 5/8" for the inner cavity. I've talked with a contractor who will be bidding on my kitchen facelift. He thinks I'll need to use a 27" cabinet. The walls of a 24" only leave 22.5" internal cavity and the cutout for the doors is only 21" wide. So, it looks like we'll be going with a 27" cabinet. I looked at the installation manual for the double DD, which does not require a cabinet. It just slides in between two cabinets, so there are no side walls or door/drawer cutouts to contend with. I still have to figure out what is the maximum sink depth, w/drain, that we can use to fit into the space above the DD. Any thoughts on that?

My assumption is that the filter design and cycle changes on Phase 8 are to meet the new/upcoming energy regulations (maximum 3.1 gallons per cycle, presumably based on "Normal"). Six cycles (Heavy, Normal, Normal Eco, Fast, Gentle, Rinse only). All cycles on Phase 8 have only one wash period (the first fill). Normal, Normal Eco, & Fast have two rinses. Gentle has 3 rinses. Heavy has 4 rinses. Phase 7 has nine cycles (Heavy, Heavy Eco, Normal, Normal Eco, Fast, Fast Eco, Delicate, Delicate Eco, Rinse only). For comparison to Phase 8, my older DD603 has seven water changes on Heavy (prewash, rinse, rinse, main wash, rinse, rinse, rinse). Phase 8 Heavy is five water changes (wash, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse). My Normal is prewash, rinse, wash, rinse, rinse. Phase 8 is wash, rinse, rinse. My Normal Eco is prewash, wash, rinse, rinse. Phase 8 is wash, rinse, rinse. Can't say what effect the Phase 8 revisions have on performance. There are fewer water changes but the wash and rinse periods are accordingly longer (total cycle times are equivalent or longer than earlier revisions). Adjustable side shelves accommodate taller items on the shelves (with a reduction accordingly on what will fit beneath depending on the adjustment). Once in a while I have an item that I'd like to place on a side shelf but it's too tall to fit (blocks the lid from sealing).

dadoes, Thank you for the response. One clarification. So if your cabinet doors and drawers are the style that overlap the cabinets then I guess the top drawer doesn't match the rest of your drawers if you leave the space. I just have seen a lot of pictures and have not noticed a space at the top. I think there is likely a little room for adjustment when attaching the panels, but I am trying to be as exact as I can be. With regard to the toe kick, I think it is made of plastic and could be trimmed more on my existing dishwasher in order to avoid the hitting of the floor. You are probably right that it is not quite level as well. I notice on the new models when I was calculating the size of the drawer fronts, there is a measurement for a toe kick that you can order when you order your panels. Or maybe the panel ready models don't come with the plastic toe kick and it is something they assume you will order along with your drawer panels. Seems that the point of getting a panel-ready model is to match the cabinets and so I am trying to determine with the information available how best to do that. Seems like there are a lot of unknowns and things could be better explained in the manuals. Again I do appreciate your reply.

There have been several design changes since the 605 series, including changes to the pump and filter. Maybe a bit more space is needed beneath the rack which gives less above it. Older racks may not work. Best to compare them before attempting to buy old-style racks to try. One change that puts me off is all the cycles (even Heavy) have no more than 3 water changes ... one wash, two rinses My DD603 will be 18 years tomorrow. I considered replacingit 3 / 4 years ago to get one with an onboard water softener but opted to repair instead. The only change I wish it had is adjustable height on the side shelves but the redesign on that to allow sliding them up/down apparently interferes with the utility of placing items on them, per Paul_MA's info above.