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.

Being that the Tall model is new, you probably won't yet find many people who have one. My DD603 is 5.5 years old. I've had no trouble with it and I wouldn't have any reservations about buying another. The changes on the Tall model (adjustable shelves and rack dividers) certainly are useful features.

I'm a single person and the dishwasher came with the house. I use it when I have a large load but not for daily use. I use just enough dishes for the two meals I usually eat at home per day, so I put my evening dishes in the sink and wash them in the morning with my breakfast dishes which I put in the dishwasher to dry. After I rinse one dish, I hold it over the sink to allow it to drip dry for a moment while I rinse the next with my other hand. When I'm done washing them all, I push the rack in and tilt the door halfway to allow the remaining drip water that has accumulated on the door to pool at the bottom of the door without letting it drain into the dishwasher (which is very bad over time for the dishwasher as that will rust out the bottom). There's not much water on the door because of my drip dray method. I sponge up the remaining water, maybe a couple of spoonfuls, and close the door about 80% so that air will circulate. EasyPeasy. The next meal I just use the dishes in the dishwasher without ever having to put them away. I'm building a camper van rv right now and I have the dish rack from an old dishwasher. I'm going to add a specific drawer just for this rack so that I can use it basically as I do at home. Figure it will be a fine way to both dry and store the primary dishes I use. I was searching the internet to see if any others had done a similar thing when I found this discussion. Thought I'd chime in.

PepperPie, The lock function does not make for a tighter seal during use, it just keeps the lid closed after the cycle ends until you manually unlock it with the button. You can leave it closed/locked as long as you want. In practice, just leave it until you're ready to unload. Unlock the drawer, pull it fully open and leave it for a while so the residual moisture can evaporate. Note that the lock button has two levels of locking. Press and hold it for a beep, that locks just the controls so kids playing can't turn the machine on or off, although the drawer can still be opened. Continue to hold the lock button past the 1st beep until a 2nd beep, and that locks the controls AND the lid so the drawer can't be opened until it's unlocked again. The 2nd lock function is a further child safety so kids can't get in and be hurt on sharp knives or whatever. Both levels of locking can be engaged whether the drawer is running or not. To unlock (from either level), press and hold Lock until it beeps once. Locking at the 2nd level is what you want to defend against the moisture problem. You might also want to check your instruction manual for an Enhanced Drying option. Some DD models have this feature, which leaves the lid sealed and the drying blower running for 4 hrs after the cycle ends. Otherwise the lid unseals immediately after the cycle's programmed drying period, although the blower will run for 30 mins longer unless the drawer is opened.