Chevy and GMC Duramax Diesel Forum banner

DEF/UREA Check The Date

130K views 148 replies 73 participants last post by  geeza76 
#1 ·
By now everybody has heard of DEF/Urea. Its no magical potion, just 32% Urea and the rest is water. While the fluid isnt fancy, it does degrade overtime and the SCR systems are extremely picky about the DEF quality. If its not good enough, your not going anywhere.

DEF has a typical shelf life of 1-2 years depending on hows its stored.

It should be stored below 86* and above 14* and out of sunlight. If it is stored in sunlight or high temperatures its shelf life decreases.

DEFs freezing point is 12-14*, the SCR systems are equipped to handle this and go into a DEF thaw mode. Each engines DEF thaw mode is different but most of them consist of a heating procedure for the DEF and reduced engine power until the DEF is ready to use.


But the main reason for me writing this is that I just put some bad DEF fluid in our tractor and now i gotta drain it and replace it with fresh stuff. Not that much work, but now thats $40 of fluid down the drain plus the tractors downtime. I went and checked the date and its over a year and a half old.

I dont suspect this to be much opf an issue for this year and the next year but I am sure that in the future poor quality DEF will become a rising issue. So just best off to check the date of manufacture before purchasing.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Great info this will come into play sooner than lator
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the great info. The dealer gave us a jug instead of filling it up. I will have to check the date when I get home.
 
#5 ·
you wouldn't think urea fluid would expire or be time sensitive
 
#8 ·
#10 ·
Ive been told no by most MFGs. I sense this is because the tank on the vehicle only last so long and within the amount of time it is in that tank it will withstand the cycles.

Storage wise its gonna freeze in the fall and thaw in the spring unless you live in WI. Storing it in the cold shouldnt be an issue just as long as you pull it out so it can thaw when you need to use it.

Its freeze point is 12-14*, for many americans this isnt too much of an issue, but for them candianites it will cause more of an issue.

It doesnt really freeze into a brick, just turns into a Gel.

The issue with the cold is simply the fact that it could possibly settle out because the urea is in a suspense in the water. However the quality should not degrade.
 
#11 ·
I wondered about that up here where it gets down to around -20,-30 pretty regularly in the winter. Most of the loggers refuse to buy new diesels because of this stuff possibly freezing and causing problems with them 20-30 miles from the nearest highway in the middle of the woods. Has anyone had freeze related problems?
 
#12 ·
Regarding DEF shelf life, Air Shield by Valvoline doesn't date stamp the container but instead stamps a batch code. When I was checking into this with Valvoline they told me I could call them with the batch code and they would tell me the date. What a crock for a product that has shelf life sensitivity. Let's get them to change to a date stamp instead of batch code!
Power to the people!!!
 
#13 ·
probably should have a best before date---all other products that expire do.....

anyway, we had constant problem with the def equiped trucks this winter in northern labrador/quebec...... fro the chevys, peterbuilts etc they all had troubles and the intank heater isnt worth a damn at -50c....
 
#15 ·
I have purchased Peak Blue DEF and DEF from a local diesel shop and neither had "use by" or production dates on them. Guess I'll store it my basement where it stays cool all year long.


2011 Chevy Silverado 3500HD CCLB SRW LTZ 4X4 DA Blue Granite Metallic, Bed Rug bed liner, Luverne SS running boards, PML diff. cover, Air Lift air bags, Handy fifth wheel tail gate.
Towing: 2009 Montana Mountaineer 347THT Toy Hauler.
Previous DAs:
2005 Chevy Silverado 3500 CCLB SRW LT 4X4 DA Silver Birch Metallic
2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD EXLB SE 4X4 DA Sand Beige Metallic
 
#17 ·
Bought a 2.5 gallon jug at Wallyworld last night with a March 2011 date. After I removed the cap, there was some dried-crystalized residue around the spout. I assumed this is normal but its the first time I've seen it so I thought I'd mention it.
 
#19 ·
What brand did you buy that had a date? Wally sells bluedef in Alaska and I haven't seen a date, just codes. The stuff crystallizes. I see it with whatever little I slop and miss wiping up.

Love this truck. Did a trip this spring with the truck camper. 9200 miles and not a problem of any kind except for the OnStar Calling. They couldn't get me a number that worked. That's fixed and a year of free calling for my trouble.
 
#24 ·
Exhaust fluid quality poor message

Just did a 5000 mile trip with my 2011. At about 4000 miles got the ex. fluid poor message. Called OnStar and they didn't have a clue...didn't come up on the diagnostic check. Drove about 20 miles, shut off the engine and then did a restart, message came back. Called OnStar again, and they said to bring it to a dealer. While I was talking to them, message went out and has not returned.
I called the the dealer I bought it at, and the service guy said that there was a recall on the DEF calibration and to check if the truck had been repaired. Went to the closest dealer and he ran the VIN and said the truck had been "repaired" in July...I bought it new in Aug. The DEF is the "original" from the dealer, I haven't added any. BTW, at 5000 miles I got a message saying I have 460 miles to go on the DEF. Anyone else experience this? Thanks
 
#26 ·
Just did a 5000 mile trip with my 2011. At about 4000 miles got the ex. fluid poor message. Called OnStar and they didn't have a clue...didn't come up on the diagnostic check. Drove about 20 miles, shut off the engine and then did a restart, message came back. Called OnStar again, and they said to bring it to a dealer. While I was talking to them, message went out and has not returned.
I called the the dealer I bought it at, and the service guy said that there was a recall on the DEF calibration and to check if the truck had been repaired. Went to the closest dealer and he ran the VIN and said the truck had been "repaired" in July...I bought it new in Aug. The DEF is the "original" from the dealer, I haven't added any. BTW, at 5000 miles I got a message saying I have 460 miles to go on the DEF. Anyone else experience this? Thanks
It'll probably take most (or all) of a couple 2.5 gal jugs. Then you'll be good for another 5-7000.
 
#25 ·
just bought a 330 tote of AirGas Air X DEF for $2.33 per gallon. Did have one better price at $2.22 per gallon, on a 275 tote, dont know the brand and with the travel time it wouldnt have been worth it.

Anyways, I called AirGas to figure out which of the dates on it was the production date, then talked to them about shelf life. In our shop which is between 55-80* throughout the year with only a few degrees temperature change throughout the day, and having the tote out of sunlight and having infloor heat versus radiant heat, they said we should have no problem getting 5 years of shelf life out of it. Hopefully we do because at the current rate we use about 140 gallons of DEF annually with just the one tractor.

They also sent me a spreadsheet showing me DEFs live expectancy.

32* : Infinite
50* : 75 Years
68* : 11 Years
86* : 23 Months
95* : 10 Months
104* : 4 Months
122* : 1 Month
140* : 1 Week.
 
#30 ·
They also sent me a spreadsheet showing me DEFs live expectancy.

32* : Infinite
50* : 75 Years
68* : 11 Years
86* : 23 Months
95* : 10 Months
104* : 4 Months
122* : 1 Month
140* : 1 Week.
This sucks for those of us that live in the desert SW. Summer temps are regularly over 110* out here, and my truck isn't a daily driver. It only gets used to tow the toys. I rarely rack up more than 5k miles per year.

Guess I'll have to get out to the lake more often.
 
#27 ·
The owner's manual says you're supposed to get the alert at 1k mi. but mine comes in somewhere less than 500 miles remaining like Gig Man. I'd like to have the earlier warning but haven't had a single problem and don't want to do the recall if I don't have to. What do you think?
 
#31 ·
Yes, all my miles were towing a 10k# travel trailer. I'm assuming that is why the DEF is used more??
The more you work it, the more it will use. The reason it is using more DEF is because it is producing more NOX when being worked hard. The reason for that is high combustion temperatures and complete burns with minimal EGR. (this is all good stuff, it means good clean horsepower without burning a lot of fuel), however the side effect of good hot clean combustion in a diesel is NOX. SCR cleans that up but needs a lot of DEF when the power is being used.

This sucks for those of us that live in the desert SW. Summer temps are regularly over 110* out here, and my truck isn't a daily driver. It only gets used to tow the toys. I rarely rack up more than 5k miles per year.

Guess I'll have to get out to the lake more often.
dont buy it until you need it then. The auto parts stores and wal mart are air conditioned. Its a pickup it needs it every oil change, its not like you need it daily like on semis or off road vehicles. Just buy what you need to fill the tank.
 
#32 ·
I have yet to get the 1K warning. Usually between 400 to 600, which doesn't work out to bad, usually wait a little longer then I can add two containers (5 gal total). Got a little better than 22K on the truck now and 85 to 90% of that is towing a 14.1K lb 5er
 
#35 ·
Are you saying that you are regenning more frequently because the def is bad? You should get a quality warning if the def has gone bad. And I don't think def has anything to do with regen. Regen is for cleaning the dpf and def is for lowering NOx emissions.
 
Top