DEF Tractors and Frequency of Use

[Towaliga]

Im going back and forth between sizes of tractor. 90+ HP has DEF. My sales rep said that tractors without DEF would probably be a better for me as I only put around 100 hrs a year on my tractor, and only get up to my property about every other month in the Spring and Summer. Im there every month in the Fall and Winter. When I looked up DEF issues with sitting, what am seeing is "1 year", which would not be an issue......

Thoughts?

 

[Paystar]

Having owned big trucks, SCR with DEF is better than DPF only. Less issues, but still a horrible unreliable system.

Tractors seem? to be doing better. And our Cat loaders and excavators with SCR/DEF have been almost trouble free. Way better than my on road trucks.
BUT...I have had codes for poor DEF quality.

You are correct that DEF only has about a one year shelf life, and any moisture or temperatures above 30*C will cause it to degrade. So will direct sunlight on stored DEF.
And of coarse it freezes at minus 11*C.

If your tractor will be sitting lots, I would try and avoid it.

 

[deserteagle71]

Since you use it so little I'd recommend finding an older tractor without all the pollution control crap on it. Cheaper to both buy and to maintain for the long term.

 

[Jrasband]

If your hardly going to use the tractor why do you need such a large one? Seems like a 75 hp tractor without DEF would suit you better

 

[Towaliga]

If your hardly going to use the tractor why do you need such a large one? Seems like a 75 hp tractor without DEF would suit you better

Im going to be using it more moving forward. We did some clearcutting a couple of years ago, and now that we replanted, I'm going to carve out some strategic food plots, and it will double the amount of acreage I have to plant every year, and also now that I will have a FEL, I'll be able to take on projects I wasn't able to in the past. The main potential issue is not running the tractor for 30 days at a time at certain times of the year

 

[geneb846]

I cycle tractor def to the pickup about every 2 months

 

[oosik]

In 2009 I wanted to upgrade my tractor. I had a 1982 Ford 1700 that I had purchased new in 1982.

I was undecided. Should I purchase a new Tier 3 or wait for the new Tier 4. The tractor salesman did me a REAL solid. Convinced me to purchase Tier 3 and not wait for the Tier 4.

I thank him - every time I climb up on my 2009 Kubota M6040.

 

[5030]

In my view, the ONLY thing DEF is good for is fertilizing my hay fields. Much cheaper than 46 granulated but you do need a spray rig to apply it. I apply it at 5 gallons of DEF to 250 gallons of water.

 

[wolc123]

Since you use it so little I'd recommend finding an older tractor without all the pollution control crap on it. Cheaper to both buy and to maintain for the long term.

This is what I would do. All of the OEM’s are pouring most of their engineering talent into electric power these days. Far better to buy something from the days when diesel power was their primary focus.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

The main potential issue is not running the tractor for 30 days at a time at certain times of the year

If it helps, my Ram 3500 can sit for up to nine months with no problems.

But when it is used, the entire nine gallon tank is sometimes used up. At this particular point, about half of the DEF in it is probably two years old.