DEF question

[Sumrtime]

Hey folks just bought a 21 Denali 3500. I have owned a diesel before but never one that uses DEF. I happen to be in the local NAPA today and noticed a display of DEF on sale so I got to looking around at it. Is there a difference from brand to brand?  Reason I asked is Napa brand is on sale for $8.99 for a 2 1/2 gal jug. Right beside that on the shelf was Blue Def Platinum and that was right at $25 for the same size jug?  Am I correct to think it’s similar to engine oil in that everyone has their favorite for their own reasons but it all basically the same??

[CamGTP]

It's all the same crap, trust me.

 

I have over 133,000 on my work truck, have put in the same truck stop bulk DEF since it was new and lots of jugs of NAPA stuff or where ever else. Never had a single DEF related failure.

 

I don't know what prices around you are but DEF at the truck stop is only $3.29 a gallon here. Way cheaper than any parts store when stuff isn't on sale. Normal prices for DEF 2.5 gallon jugs from what I see are $13 or $15 or so.

[Grumpy Bear]

15 hours ago, Sumrtime said:

Hey folks just bought a 21 Denali 3500. I have owned a diesel before but never one that uses DEF. I happen to be in the local NAPA today and noticed a display of DEF on sale so I got to looking around at it. Is there a difference from brand to brand?  Reason I asked is Napa brand is on sale for $8.99 for a 2 1/2 gal jug. Right beside that on the shelf was Blue Def Platinum and that was right at $25 for the same size jug?  Am I correct to think it’s similar to engine oil in that everyone has their favorite for their own reasons but it all basically the same??

 

Diesel exhaust fluid is a liquid used to reduce the amount of air pollution created by a diesel engine. Specifically, DEF is an aqueous urea solution made with 32.5% urea and 67.5% deionized water.

 

It's a chemically defined substance. There is ZERO difference between ANY reputable brand. Heavy on the REPUTABLE. 

 

Plain old ammonia water. 

 

Marketing's best friend is consumer ignorance. They try hard to keep us all ignorant. 

 

[Black02Silverado]

If you are getting jugs of it, just make sure it is as fresh as possible.  DEF has a shelf life.  If it is out in the heat it is drastically reduced from what I have read.  I prefer getting it at truck stops out of the pump.  Never had issues and no jugs to mess around with and easy to fill up since I have to open my trunk and lift up the carpet mat to get to my DEF tank in my 2014 Diesel Cruze.  I also only have to fill up once every 14k miles.

[MaverickZ71]

21 hours ago, Sumrtime said:

Hey folks just bought a 21 Denali 3500. I have owned a diesel before but never one that uses DEF. I happen to be in the local NAPA today and noticed a display of DEF on sale so I got to looking around at it. Is there a difference from brand to brand?  Reason I asked is Napa brand is on sale for $8.99 for a 2 1/2 gal jug. Right beside that on the shelf was Blue Def Platinum and that was right at $25 for the same size jug?  Am I correct to think it’s similar to engine oil in that everyone has their favorite for their own reasons but it all basically the same??

 

Like Nick said, check the expiration date.  It it on sale just because it is expired?  And to the DEF users on here, how expired is expired when it comes to DEF?  Like sour milk?

[doverarjim]

I have not had any problems but I have read about people having issues with the Platinum stuff in the 19-21 trucks, so I would stay away from it for right now.  I also try to only use the truck stop stuff had 160,000 miles on my 11 truck and now have 83,000 on this 19 truck and can say I've only bought 3 jugs of def all the rest that I have used has been bulk at truck stops. 

[Grumpy Bear]

 

https://slideplayer.com/slide/10418987/

 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by Grumpy Bear

[pokismoki]

On 8/1/2021 at 7:16 PM, CamGTP said:

It's all the same crap, trust me.

 

I have over 133,000 on my work truck, have put in the same truck stop bulk DEF since it was new and lots of jugs of NAPA stuff or where ever else. Never had a single DEF related failure.

 

I don't know what prices around you are but DEF at the truck stop is only $3.29 a gallon here. Way cheaper than any parts store when stuff isn't on sale. Normal prices for DEF 2.5 gallon jugs from what I see are $13 or $15 or so.

I would figure a guy like you would have deleted the DEF tanks and software controls on your personal rig

[CamGTP]

It's a company truck actually so I can't do all that lol. It's just easier to say "my truck" because I am the only one that drives it and it stays in our works lot over night.

[pokismoki]

hypothetically , if the truck was for offloading/farm  use only, and you where to delete the emissions stuff, what software would you use?

Edited August 4, 2021 by pokismoki

[rv7plt]

I always use the DEF from Walmart. Less than $8 for 2.5 gal.

[rv7plt]

I forgot to add, I use about 5 gal in 5000 mi pulling a 15000 lb trailer. 2015 Denali 3500.

[CamGTP]

4 hours ago, pokismoki said:

hypothetically , if the truck was for offloading/farm  use only, and you where to delete the emissions stuff, what software would you use?

Hmm, I guess it would depend on what year the truck is and who makes it.

 

This is all hypothetically of course here. There are older versions of HP Tuners that allowed for emission deletes, this is stuff from almost 10 years ago though. I heard of guys doing it with the newer versions with cracked software or special user defined tables that allowed for turning off stuff. That is more complicated and I don't know enough about how they did it to give a perfect answer.

 

Cummins guys liked to use the EZ Lynk Tuner box/cable. "People" had the tunes they'd send to whoever and use the product to install the tune to delete the emissions.