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  1. #41
    Big Traveler SouthTX's Avatar
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    Good question, how fresh is the DEF? I found one way to tell.

    I was at Walmart the other day and they had two flavors of DEF on the shelf. At the end of the aisle, there was a clearance shelf with a couple of boxes of DEF yellow tagged a couple of bucks cheaper than the others. No damage to the boxes or anything. I passed on it.

    The clearance shelf may be one indication of freshness (not). [G]
    John and Jean
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  2. #42
    Rolling Along kevinpo's Avatar
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    Hello,
    I've only added DEF from the Love's truck stop dispenser at the Idaho/Washington border for the last three years. It's an extra handle next to the diesel handle. I only buy a couple of gallons at a time and run the gauge from 3/4 to 1/4 full before buying more. No problems so far.

    HTH,
    Kevin
    2015 Ram Laramie 3500 4x4 LB Dually Crew Cab
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  3. #43
    Site Sponsor gbkims's Avatar
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    The DEF date coding is to keep our minds sharp.
    I read - Julian Dates: it is widely used on a wide variety of manufactured products as a standard means of dating. It is also used by parts of the military and as an astrological measurement.

    My box of Blue DEF bought in April, 2018
    Date Code: 12192691508 = Yr = 18 Mfgr Date 4-6-2018 (365-269 = 96)
    12 = Plant where DEF made
    19 subtract 1 from this number to get year made.
    269 Days left in current year when made, so 96 days from Jan 1, this DEF was made 4-6-2018.
    508 Batch number
    - Gene

    Kim & Gene
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  4. #44
    Site Sponsor
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    DEF from WalMart has a date imprinted (no deciphering needed) on the box/bottle when it was manufactured. Just make sure the seal is intact and there is no residue around the cap. That goes for where ever you get your DEF from. There are only 2-3 manufacturers of DEF so it makes no difference from whom you get it from.
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  5. #45
    Fireside Member Bill Davey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steven@147 View Post

    As for DEF, well its the nature of what we have to live with now. My son works for a GM dealer and has told me about the short shelf life of the DEF. I looked at a Box/jug of it just yesterday at a Exxon gas station convenience store. It was $15.99 for 2.5 gallons, the stuff you always see at auto stores, Walmart and other places. I wanted to see if there was an expiration date on the box, no there isn't. There is some sort of control number and maybe that decodes into at least a date of manufacture but i don't know. I have read about people getting a bad box of DEF and causing the truck to go into limp mode and a very costly repair.

    See that is my concern, how do you know how old the product is and if its of good quality. How long has it been setting around in chain stores? At least at the truck stops I would guess they go through a lot of DEF and it would be good stuff. I don't know if the stuff like at WalMart is good stuff or not. Don't know if I would be willing to take that chance or not. Most drivers I have read about agree with your practice of keeping the DEF at around 1/2 tank when everyday driving. My owners manual says to wait until the DEF tank gets at about 1/2 then you can safely add 2 gallons. I hear using that funnel the OEMs give you are a PITA. On my Ram its under the front passengers seat next to the jack.
    Two answers that I hope are helpful. First, the numbers on boxes & jugs is decoded as follows: the first 2 digits are code for the plant where DEF was bottled; Third and fourth digits are the year (+1) it was bottled e.g. if the digits are 18, the jug was filled in 2017; Digits 5,6,& 7 are the number of days left in the year the bottle was filled. Honest folks, I'm not making this up. I don't know what any additional digits mean. Recently I saw 1 gallon jugs at Walmart that had an actual date instead of this goofy code.

    Second: In my opinion, the tank on your truck is almost the worst place to store a lot of DEF for a long time. Your tank experiences wide temperature swings, very cold temps in the winter and high temps in the summer. I let my tank get to less than 1/4 tank then put in a 2.5 gallon jug that brings me back above 1/2 tank.
    2017 Grand Design Reflection 313RLTS, purchased April 2018. 2014 Ram 1500 Ecodiesel (I need a bigger truck!). Oswego NY in the summer, Ft. Myers Beach, Fl in the winter. GD is my summer home. Previously owned: 2015 Rockwood 2604WS; 2012 KZ Stoneridge 43' toy hauler; 2005 Titanium 39' toy hauler.

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