CONTACT · DISPATCH
Boucher & Jones Fuels and Davis & McCauley Fuels — Petro-Canada distributor

Call dispatch during the workday, the after-hours line when it’s late, or send us a note and we’ll get back to you.

Dispatch
519 743 3669
After-hours
AFTER_HOURS_TBD
Hours
Monday – Friday · 7:00 – 17:30
After-hours line answers nights and weekends

Or send a note:

DEF ·  DIESEL EXHAUST FLUID

DEF for Tier 4 engines — the same supply that runs your diesel.

Petro-Canada Air1 in totes, drums, and jugs, on the same standing route as your fuel. One rep on the account year-round, sized to how hard your equipment is actually running.

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01 / WHAT IT IS

A urea solution your engine burns alongside its diesel.

DEF is 32.5% high-purity urea in deionized water. It feeds the selective catalytic reduction system on every Tier 4 diesel engine — the system that turns NOx into nitrogen and water before it leaves the stack. Without it, the engine derates. AdBlue is the same product under a different name.

  • The spec is one number

    ISO 22241. Every reputable DEF on the market is blended to it; the standard is what makes brands interchangeable. We supply Petro-Canada Air1, blended at Mississauga, certified to the standard and to the API DEF mark.

  • Not optional on covered equipment

    Tier 4 SCR engines monitor DEF level and quality. Run low and the engine derates progressively — first a power cut, then a speed limit, eventually a no-start. The system is designed to make sure DEF gets refilled; the page below tells you how much you’ll go through, and how to keep ahead of it.

SOURCE · ISO 22241 (DEF / AUS 32) · PETRO-CANADA AIR1 · API DEF CERTIFICATION

02 / HOW MUCH YOU’LL USE

Two to five percent of your diesel, depending on how hard you run.

DEF burns alongside diesel at roughly 2–5% by volume — closer to 2% on light duty, closer to 5% under sustained load. Three worked examples below, in the units the operators actually plan in. Your own numbers anchor against them.

  • A tractor through harvest

    A Tier 4 tractor burning 800 L of diesel in a hard harvest week runs through 24–40 L of DEF over the same week. A 1,040 L tote covers two weeks of peak operation with slack. Most cash-crop accounts size around the dryer week and the planting peak, with a tote on hand for both.

  • A long-haul truck

    A linehaul tractor pulling at highway cruise averages closer to 3% — about 30 L of DEF per 1,000 L of diesel. A truck refilling daily at a cardlock with a 50 L on-board DEF tank tops up roughly every other fill. High-volume fleets draw bulk DEF on the same cycle as their diesel.

  • An excavator on a site

    A Tier 4 excavator running sustained load on a construction site sits closer to the 5% end — about 50 L of DEF per 1,000 L of diesel. A site with three or four machines on a heavy push will go through a tote in two to three weeks. Bulk delivery makes sense when the site stays open through a season.

SOURCE · OEM SCR CONSUMPTION SPEC · CUMMINS · CAT · JOHN DEERE
DEF · ISO 22241 · PETRO-CANADA AIR1

03 / HOW IT STORES

A year sealed, sensitive to heat, ruined by dirt — but freezing is fine.

  • Shelf life

    About 12 months sealed at moderate temperature. Longer in a cool, dark space; shorter if it spends a summer on a south-facing pad. The clock starts at the blend date, which is on the container.

  • Heat degrades it

    Sustained storage above 25°C breaks the urea down. A DEF tote in direct summer sun loses spec faster than the calendar says it should. Indoor storage, or shaded outdoor storage, is the answer — not a different product.

  • Contamination ruins a tank

    DEF is unforgiving of dirt in a way that engine oil isn’t. A dirty funnel, a non-dedicated jug, a hose used for something else — any of those can take a tank out of spec. Closed-system dispensing on totes and bulk is how serious operators avoid the problem entirely.

  • Freezing is fine

    DEF freezes at −11°C. It thaws back to spec — the chemistry doesn’t change. Every Tier 4 SCR system has a heated supply line and a thaw cycle built in for cold starts. Storing DEF through an Ontario winter in an unheated shed is not a problem; running it through a frozen line on a January morning is what the engine is designed to do.

SOURCE · ISO 22241 STORAGE GUIDANCE · PETRO-CANADA AIR1 PRODUCT DATA · OEM SCR THAW SPEC

04 / FORMATS

Four formats, one decision rule.

The right format follows your draw and how much contamination control your operation wants. Closed-system dispensing on totes and bulk is the move once you’re going through more than a drum a month — every transfer is a chance to introduce dirt, and DEF doesn’t forgive it.

  • Jug · 9.46 L

    Occasional use — a single piece of equipment, a top-up for a fleet truck off a cardlock. Sealed at the factory, single transfer to the equipment tank. The right answer for low-volume operations and for keeping one on the shelf for emergencies.

  • Drum · 208 L

    Small operations that go through more than a few jugs a month but not enough to justify a tote. A pump-and-spout setup keeps it cleaner than open transfer. Honest about what it is — a step toward bulk, not a permanent answer for high-draw operations.

  • Tote · 1,040 L

    The most common ag and fleet size. Closed-system dispensing through a sealed coupler, no funnel, no exposed transfer. Covers roughly two weeks of peak operation for a Tier 4 tractor or one to two weeks of a heavy-load excavator. The size most operations land on.

  • Bulk · on-site tank

    Tanker delivery into a dedicated on-site DEF tank. For high-consumption operations — large fleets, multi-machine construction sites, big cash-crop yards. The economics show up when monthly draw crosses roughly one tote per week; the contamination control is built into the dispensing system from day one.

SOURCE · PETRO-CANADA AIR1 PACKAGING SKUS · CLOSED-SYSTEM DISPENSING (CDS) · ISO 22241

05 / HOW WE HANDLE IT

On the same route as your fuel.

DEF rides alongside diesel on the standing route, sized to your draw. One rep on the account, one number for both lines, paperwork on the same invoice if you want it.

  • Standing route

    Scheduled drops on the same cycle as your diesel, sized so the DEF and the fuel never get out of step. After-hours dispatch on the same line as the day shift.

  • Paired with diesel

    Most accounts run coloured or clear diesel on the same conversation as DEF. We size the tote count or the bulk schedule around your diesel burn — the consumption ratio is consistent enough that it works.

  • Petro-Canada Air1

    Blended at Mississauga, certified to ISO 22241 and the API DEF mark. Same supply chain that runs the lubricants line. Brand is interchangeable on a Tier 4 engine — the spec is what matters — but it’s the product we stock.

  • Format flexibility

    Jug, drum, tote, bulk. We start with what your operation actually draws and adjust over a season or two. The contamination-control argument for stepping up to closed-system dispensing is one we’ll make in person, not on the website.

SOURCE · PETRO-CANADA AIR1 · ISO 22241 · CLOSED-SYSTEM DISPENSING (CDS)

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06 / BY INDUSTRY

Same product, different tank picture.

DEF chemistry and storage don’t change between verticals. What changes is the size of the tank you need on-site and the cycle your draw follows. The three pictures below are the recognition surface; the detail lives in the conversation with dispatch.

  • AGRICULTURE

    On the farm

    A Tier 4 tractor with a 1,000 L diesel tank burning hard through harvest will run through a tote of DEF every two weeks at peak. A tote on hand for planting and another for the dryer window is the common pattern.

    • Typical draw
      ~3% of diesel volume
    • Peak windows
      Planting · harvest · drying
    • Format
      Tote, occasionally bulk
  • FLEET · COMMERCIAL

    On the truck

    Linehaul tractors top up DEF on roughly every other diesel fill. A yard with bulk diesel and bulk DEF runs both off the same dispensing schedule. Refrigerated trailer auxiliary engines are a separate DEF line if the reefer is Tier 4.

    • Typical draw
      ~3% of diesel volume
    • Peak windows
      Year-round, distance-driven
    • Format
      Cardlock jug · bulk yard
  • CONSTRUCTION

    On the site

    Tier 4 excavators, loaders, and dozers under sustained load push DEF closer to 5% of diesel volume. A site running three or four machines on a heavy push goes through a tote every two to three weeks; on a season-long site, bulk delivery is the cleaner answer.

    • Typical draw
      ~4–5% of diesel volume
    • Peak windows
      Active build season
    • Format
      Tote · bulk on long sites
07 / FAQ

Practical questions.

01What happens if I run out of DEF?
The engine derates. First it cuts power, then it limits speed, eventually it won’t restart. The sequence is built into the Tier 4 SCR system specifically to make sure DEF gets refilled — it’s designed to be a nuisance, not a catastrophe, and the dashboard warnings come well before the no-start point. The honest answer is to keep a jug on the shelf and to size your tote count around your draw so the question never gets that far.OEM SCR DERATE SPEC · ISO 22241
02Can I store DEF in my equipment over winter?
Yes. DEF freezes at −11°C and thaws back to spec — the chemistry doesn’t change. Every Tier 4 SCR system has a heated supply line and a thaw cycle built into cold-start procedure. Leaving the equipment tank full through an Ontario winter is fine; the system is designed for it.ISO 22241 · OEM SCR THAW SPEC
03How do I know if my DEF has gone bad?
Visible cloudiness, a strong ammonia smell, or sediment in the bottom of a clear container are the obvious signs. The honest answer for serious operators is a refractometer — a $50 tool that reads the urea concentration directly. ISO 22241 specifies 32.5% by mass; anything substantially off is out of spec. If you’re running enough DEF to worry about this, you’re running enough to own the tool.ISO 22241 · REFRACTOMETER
04Can I mix DEF brands?
Yes, as long as both are ISO 22241 certified. The standard is what makes DEF interchangeable — a tote of one brand and a jug of another, blended at the equipment tank, is no different chemically than two totes of the same brand. The API DEF mark is the second certification to look for; it’s the practical confirmation that what’s in the container matches what’s on the label.ISO 22241 · API DEF
05Why is DEF more expensive than I think it should be?
Distribution and contamination control are the bulk of the cost. The chemistry is cheap — urea and deionized water — but moving a low-volume, contamination-sensitive product on a separate dispensing system to a farm or a yard is what costs money. Bulk delivery brings the per-litre cost down meaningfully against jugs; the trade is the up-front spend on the tank and the dispensing equipment. We walk through the math on the call.B&J COMMERCIAL · INDUSTRY PRICING
06Can I get DEF and diesel on the same account?
Yes — most operations do. One rep on both lines, one invoice if you want it, one phone number for after-hours. The pairing is the default for a Tier 4 fleet or a Tier 4 farm, not the exception.OPERATIONS
NEXT STEP ·  SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO

Talk to dispatch about your DEF.

Tell us what you’re running, how hard you’re running it, and what your diesel cycle looks like. We’ll size the DEF program around it and sort the diesel, propane, and lubricants on the same conversation.

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05 / COVERAGE ·  SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO · 9 REGIONS

Across southwestern Ontario, by named rep.

Standing routes across nine regions. Same rep year-round; off-hours emergency dispatch through the same number.

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CITY PAGES ·  15 ACROSS THE FOOTPRINT
SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO · 9-REGION FOOTPRINT

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