DEF Contamination: The Importance of the Right Products
DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) can be easily contaminated, which means that it usually isn’t too difficult to tell if your supply is at risk. Contamination usually occurs through exposure to particulate matter. If there are any cracks or weaknesses in the fluid’s packaging, storage tanks or dispensing equipment, odds are that the DEF within the packaging is at risk. If you do not use proper packaging for DEF transfer, the fluid itself can cause cracks in the hose and fittings, making for easy contamination. In fact, DEF is such a pure fluid that it can be contaminated by merely touching the fluid with a foreign object, or exposing it to outside air. Contamination in the fluid will mean that your engine will shut down – which is the last thing anybody would want on a job or traveling.
To the right is what normal, un-passivated, hydraulic products look like after sitting for 24 hours in DEF, creating a white substance around the products. After washing away the white substance, you can see that the fittings have been eroded from exposure to the DEF, making the fluid an easy target for potential contamination. Contamination will end up being very costly, and cause a lot of time delay. Other than causing your DEF engine to stop running, contamination in the engine could cause permanent damage, and the engine could need to be replaced. A lot of trouble when this can all be avoided if you have the right products.
Since contamination of DEF is so easy, it is important that DEF storage and transfer products follow the 3P Quality Procedures:
- 3P Purity Hose Manufacturing
- 3P Purity Coupling Manufacturing
- 3P Purity Assembly Procedure
These procedures ensure that DEF will stay away from contamination, and allow your DEF engine to keep running smoothly. This is why we are the master distributor for Flextral products, ensuring quality for each and every product. For more information, please check out our DEF brochure, or visit the Flextral site.