DEF and Storage

Joined
Jun 22, 2008
Messages
1,339
Location
Colorado
My brother use to work for O&G Service Companies, where they had upward of 100 diesel vehicles that required DEF. There was a time where many of the vehicles started to operate poorly and he brought in a consultant. That dude told him their DEF was aged out and causing the problem. As you can guess, they purchased DEF in massive quantities.

I told him that sounded absurd to me..... knowing what DEF really is. Urea.

Anyway, when the news that DEF was in short supply this past spring, I purchased 40 gallons and it is stored in a cool, dry, dark place.

I wonder how long DEF can be stored..... and if it can really go bad?


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What do you mean by operate poorly? I can't imagine the quality of the DEF causing issues with how the engine runs unless the system puts the engine into limp mode.
 
What do you mean by operate poorly? I can't imagine the quality of the DEF causing issues with how the engine runs unless the system puts the engine into limp mode.

most modern diesels that take DEF have DEF quality sensors. They monitor the percentage of urea and de-rate the engine if the reading is outside the limits. Early in the DEF era people were adding water to dilute the DEF...

Just my $0.02
 
The OE stuff we sell has an expiry date on it......and its not far out as I recall? 1.5 yrs? If def is in poor condition, (even when good to a point) it can end up it dried chunks in front of the scr....causing a restriction
 
Ok... 1.5 to 3 years...... I am guessing I have enough for 5 years.

I wonder if there is a DEF additive that will extend its life..... You know, something for DEF like Stabil for DEF?


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The problem we see where I work is a low def level in the tank. When def gets oxygen in the tank it makes a white and crusty mess. Keeping the tanks full helps stop that
What's fun is when people put DEF in the fuel and run it. You get those crystals in the CP4 pump and all the injector lines and its game over dude.
 
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