AdBlue

I wouldn’t worry V8, I’d actually forgotten all about adblue! 
My light came on early in the first year and I filled up the tank. Worrying about the shelf life of what I had left, I filled up again before disposing of the remains, this was at about 18 months old.
2 years later and the light hasn’t come on yet, mileage is 8570.

That calculator gives me a result which is quite different to yours (V8) but is consistent with my own experience


When the warning light comes on, you have 1,500 miles to fill up so no need to get stressed.
Once the range drops to about 1,000 miles, you get a mile by mile countdown.

I have done 25,000 miles now and get 500 to 550 miles per litre and I drive sporty but I do prefer motorways which might have improved my consumption.

I discovered recently that not all the Sevel vans use the same size AdBlue tanks which might explain why some folk need to top up more often than others 

AutoSleepy_Don wrote:That calculator gives me a result which is quite different to yours (V8) but is consistent with my own experience


When the warning light comes on, you have 1,500 miles to fill up so no need to get stressed.
Once the range drops to about 1,000 miles, you get a mile by mile countdown.

I have done 25,000 miles now and get 500 to 550 miles per litre and I drive sporty but I do prefer motorways which might have improved my consumption.

That’s more like I was expecting! Thanks for the reassurance.

Dbvwt wrote:I wouldn’t worry V8, I’d actually forgotten all about adblue! 
My light came on early in the first year and I filled up the tank. Worrying about the shelf life of what I had left, I filled up again before disposing of the remains, this was at about 18 months old.
2 years later and the light hasn’t come on yet, mileage is 8570.

I’m at 1800 now but will probably do another 7000 between now and the end of September, so I’ll have to deal with it at some point. I’m hoping to find a garage with an AdBlue pump. I think they are more numerous on the continent.

My only concern with a garage adblue pump would be that they're meant for HGV which use vast quantities compared to us?
Not seen on a van by my Skoda only has a wee filler hole in the boot?

IanH wrote:My only concern with a garage adblue pump would be that they're meant for HGV which use vast quantities compared to us?
Not seen on a van by my Skoda only has a wee filler hole in the boot?

They are here, and I’ve read that you shouldn’t use those because of a higher flow rate. On the continent they supposedly have versions specifically for non-HGV use too.

V8, you are probably aware but most ‘off the shelf’ containers from the likes of Euro car parts come with a standard hose that connects to the filler point.

Dbvwt wrote:V8, you are probably aware but most ‘off the shelf’ containers from the likes of Euro car parts come with a standard hose that connects to the filler point.

From what I’ve read, you don’t want to be spilling any on the paintwork, so that’s good! I’ve noticed at least one brand in France comes with a spout too. 

I’ve also just come across this. What with diesel shortages, LPG shortages, pandemics and ferry problems, we really can’t seem to catch a break at the moment.

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On my Peugeot the warning light came on at 5300 miles. I used a motorway service station and had no problem with the pump

as I filled it slowly. The pump was situated in the commercial vehicle area and a lorry driver told me I was in the wrong area as he

thought I was buying diesel. You do need a "commercial" fuel card to pay at the Ad Blue pump but I asked the cashier what I should do.

He told me to fill up and then go back to him and pay. I can understand that not every outlet would do that from a security point of view.

I put 9.42 litres in (14 litre tank) which I thought was well within the forecast consumption. At that rate and the mileage I do I can put

up with a bit of aggro once a year.

David

IanH wrote:My only concern with a garage adblue pump would be that they're meant for HGV which use vast quantities compared to us?
Not seen on a van by my Skoda only has a wee filler hole in the boot?

a hgv fills up with adblue every 2nd diesel tank fill up with most truck operations some do fit  larger tanks when using more adblue due to the work the truck is doing and burns more adblue .the pump nozzle for adblue is a set size to go in the tank fill point for trucks and vans .filling vans with adblue at truck stations is not a problem the adblue pump flow is ok for vans and trucks
diesel pumps do have faster flow pumps and larger pump nozzle in truck fuel stations and that is a no no to fill up vans.
they do say not to fill cars that have the filler point in the boot or under the bonnet at fuel pumps for adblue.
if you spill adblue just wash off with water
if vans and cars all went to truck fuel stations getting adblue the trucks would never get to the pumps so the reason for only wanting trucks
more car fuel pump stations are now fitting adblue pumps

IanH wrote:My only concern with a garage adblue pump would be that they're meant for HGV which use vast quantities compared to us?
Not seen on a van by my Skoda only has a wee filler hole in the boot?

The first time I had the adblue warning was  going over Kessock Bridge on way to Rosemarkie. I called at Tore Service Station and was told to use the HGV pump. Got a few comments from HGV drivers but waited in queue and filled the tank. It was a lot cheaper than what I had to pay at a garage in Wales the next time I needed to fill up and it was no trouble at all using the pump.

My neighbours new Volvo won't start if the Adblue level is too low. 
Guess that doesn't apply to commercial vehicles?

bertb wrote:My neighbours new Volvo won't start if the Adblue level is too low. 
Guess that doesn't apply to commercial vehicles?

I would have thought that all modern car computers would also give plenty of advance warning that the levels were getting low rather than just not starting without any warning.
I’ve not tried it but I would imagine my van would also eventually not start if I ignored the warnings and just carried on!

I hadn't realised that Adblue was so important.

Dbvwt wrote:

bertb wrote:My neighbours new Volvo won't start if the Adblue level is too low. 
Guess that doesn't apply to commercial vehicles?

I would have thought that all modern car computers would also give plenty of advance warning that the levels were getting low rather than just not starting without any warning.
I’ve not tried it but I would imagine my van would also eventually not start if I ignored the warnings and just carried on!

That’s correct, it will not start. But you get the first warning starting at 1,500 miles range, repeated every time you start the engine. The second more frantic one starts with 375 miles range remaining, not just when you start the engine, but also every 30 miles driven. If you still do nothing, and reach 0 miles range, it won’t start until you add AdBlue. But you cant say you weren't warned!

Absolutely, perhaps bertb needs to advise his neighbour to not worry too much. 
If you’ve not had an Adblue vehicle before it can all sound a bit daunting but it’s not a lot different to filling the washer bottle!

Fair comment Dbvwt.
He does  a fair mileage, to Stirling and back from Staffordshire
every 2 weeks which is about 15000/ year. 
But he has more to occupy his time with the car.
Much of the access to the simple things like aircon and radio operating seem to 
need a mobile phone connection and he ain't got one, mobile phone that is.

Bought one of these, mail order. Now, it's an expensive way to buy Adblue, but the bottle is what I wanted. Correct nozzle (ours is in the car boot) clearly, works upside down. Press it down to release the fluid.

THEN, get the Dremel out and cut the neck of the top, where it joins the bottle, just above the dimples you can just see in the pic. That allows the top to be unscrewed and the bottle to be refilled.

I got my first AdBlue warning today. At 5,800 Km (3,600 miles), which is a long way short of the implied 10,000 Km range, but who knows if they filled it at the factory. I hope to find a service station with a pump, so at least I know how much I have put in.

v8oholic wrote:I got my first AdBlue warning today. At 5,800 Km (3,600 miles), which is a long way short of the implied 10,000 Km range, but who knows if they filled it at the factory.

You did better than me, my first warning was at 2,719 miles.
I think it is the supplying dealer that is responsible for filling it up and I have never heard of anyone getting a full tank at new.
If I did fill the Adblue completely (15L on mine) then I would get just over 6,000 miles before I got the 1,500 miles warning.

You are giving dealers far too much credit Don, I doubt half of them actually know what adblue is 
My light first came on after about 1000 miles and I guess that was what went in at the factory!

1000 miles, eh. We only managed 30 on the last Warwick after picking it up from Marquis 

I managed to find a service station with a pump quite easily, within 30 Km anyway. I put in 11.9 litres before it shut off (but not until dumping a bit down the side of the van).

The cost was €15.46 which works out at £13.12, or £1.10 per litre. I don’t know how that compares to UK prices, having never bought any before.

Hopefully it will be a while before I’m looking for it again. But this pump experiment suggests that once the light comes on there is more than enough room for 10 litres from bottles.

Blimey, just checked the price of the exact same 10 litre I bought from ECP a couple of years ago, it’s more than doubled to over £25!!
I not quite sure why I was shocked the way the price of everything has gone recently.