DEF clean up

agesilaus wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:
Hot dihydrogen monoxide will do.

Yup as we all know: Dilution is the solution to pollution. Water will do the job. I find it unlikely that urea penetrated an undamaged plastic jug, either it had a pinhole or the top wasn't on tight.

Back in my truck driving days, I would carry a couple milk jugs of water with me. Fill them up at home on the weekend.

The average life of a jug was about 2 months. They would crack on the botton and start leaking.

There is no earthly reason to carry a spare bottle of DEF around. You can buy it whenever you need it at any fuel station that carries diesel fuel, as well at any WallyWorld, auto parts store, farm supply place, and thousands of other places anywhere you go. Given that all the vehicles I know about give you a “need DEF” warning a thousand miles before you actually are at any risk of running out, you are never at risk of running out.

As for cleanup after a spill, plain water is all you need. It is very soluble in water, less so in any sort of grease cutter or cleaning agent. Pull the rug out, hang it on a clothesline, and hose it down. Ditto the truck bed. Problem solved.

I will stick a factory new jug of DEF in the truck (bed) if I'm going on a long towing trip. The truck sucks down a lot of DEF when it's towing and some of the areas we go through are pretty desolate and you can't exactly pull off and get DEF anywhere. Or fuel for that matter. But other than that scenario, I just fill it up at a pump when it starts getting low. The nice thing about Rams is you get an actual DEF gauge so you have an idea of how much you've got at any point. It isn't very linear but it's still better than waiting for an idiot light to come on.

I would not carry extra DEF either.

For one, the truck can go thousands of miles on a full tank of DEF, and you can purchase DEF at just about any Walmart or convenience store. So the chances of running out in an area where you cannot get more within 50 miles is slim to none unless there is gross negligence on your part. I would worry more about running out of fuel than DEF.

Secondly, if you live in area where the temps get above 95F often(like many southern states) then the shelf life reduces to about 6 months.

SidecarFlip wrote:
Plenty of lukewarm water on the DEF stain. Def is deionized water and urea. Nicely put, urea is processed fecal matter from livestock. In the case of DEF, the urea is chemically produced. I spray urea at 46% base dilluted with water on my crops as a foilar innoculant. Makes them grow so you can eat them....lol

Never keep DEF in anything but it's original container and keep the lid tight. Air can degrade it too,

No, DEF isn't made from fecal material.
Urea has been made for fertilizer since the 1800's.
The urea used in DEF is a pure form since the SCR can't handle impurities.

PersonallyI wouldn't carry any extra at all. Cannot speak for GM & Ram, but Ford's capacity is 5-7 gallons from the factory. That equates to a min of 1500-2500 miles of driving. Depending on where you are/at, can either fill up at truck stops in the semi lanes, buy it in jugs at truck stops, Wal-mart or wherever . As for what to do w/ spillage, just rinse off w/ water----at least that's what I'd do.

SidecarFlip wrote:
Plenty of lukewarm water on the DEF stain. Def is deionized water and urea. Nicely put, urea is processed fecal matter from livestock. In the case of DEF, the urea is chemically produced. I spray urea at 46% base dilluted with water on my crops as a foilar innoculant. Makes them grow so you can eat them....lol

Never keep DEF in anything but it's original container and keep the lid tight. Air can degrade it too,

X2

If you want to carry extra def buy a new jerry can and put it in it and mark it.

Not sure how best to clean it, but I would avoid carrying an extra jug in the truck to begin with, even the factory original container could get damaged and punctured accidentally and make a big mass.

We do a lot of driving on the trucks at my job...
20017 Ford with 102,000 miles
2017 Ram with 140,000 miles
2017 Ram with 55,000 miles
None of them carry extra DEF, just top off when the gauge says less than half full

I buy Def in a 200 litre barrel that I get refilled. Often when I refill the barrel I end up with DEF spilled in the bed of my truck or down the side of the endgate. I've never been concerned about it..... I spray the white stain off the next time I go to the car wash. I've presently got 6 vehicles that take DEF and I've never cleaned up after a spill nor have I seen DEF do any damage to a painted surface.

Hot dihydrogen monoxide will do.

Had to look that one up.!!