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DEF and freezing weather and hot weather...how do any tractors work?
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Posted 3/2/2021 12:10 (#8868081)
Subject: DEF and freezing weather and hot weather...how do any tractors work?


Between the horror stories I read about DEF tanks clogging and tractors shutting down and exhausts being ruined and $25K repair bills, I am at a loss regarding DEF. Since most tractors, trucks, etc. with new big diesel engines do not sit in heated, air-conditioned buildings all year, how are you supposed to keep the DEF from going bad due to freezing or over-heating? In addition, it goes bad when it gets old and crystallizes in the filters/valves--so what do we do with the DEF sitting in the tank when the cycle ends? Drain it? Not a problem in my pickup truck or chore tractors that I drive every day, but a major problem in my tillage tractor (now that I have a DEF tractor).

So, two questions:

1) What is the REAL risk of a major problem with old, cold, or hot DEF? Do some tractor brands have bigger problems than others? Are these just sporadic cases in engines that have not been run for long periods?

2) What is your game plan? I understand that we need to check the dates on the DEF containers and only buy small quantities and all (pain in the tail for a tractor with a 70 gallon DEF tank), but does this mean we drain the DEF tank before use every spring startup or at harvest time--especially in the engines that don't get used most of the year?

Advice from this forum has very literally saved me tens of thousands of dollars over the last decade and I totally respect your advice. I can't afford a bunch of major DEF repair bills. I need to get a plan and my plans for new stuff like this are almost always based on your plans. So, what is your strategy?

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