Adblue shelf life

[mark61]

There must be plenty of early euro 6 cars which will have ad blue in their tanks for a year if not more, seeing as many still have over a 10 litre tank, and will consume ad blue at a third, or less, of the rate a light commercial does.
Anything Euro 6c or later can consume around 3 times as much as an early euro 6.

 

[Fisherman]

There must be plenty of early euro 6 cars which will have ad blue in their tanks for a year if not more, seeing as many still have over a 10 litre tank, and will consume ad blue at a third, or less, of the rate a light commercial does.
Anything Euro 6c or later can consume around 3 times as much as an early euro 6.

The earlier Adblu systems were prone to all sorts of issues Mark.
My C220 now has a warning light on due to faulty NOX sensors, which I already replaced at £250 each plus Labour. Merc dealer wanted £1400
But my garage simply resets the warning light, and it passes its mot.
Merc were not alone with these issues, it affected many others makes.

 

[mark61]

The earlier Adblu systems were prone to all sorts of issues Mark.
My C220 now has a warning light on due to faulty NOX sensors, which I already replaced at £250 each plus Labour. Merc dealer wanted £1400
But my garage simply resets the warning light, and it passes its mot.
Merc were not alone with these issues, it affected many others makes.

Still issues on current models too.
I think it's fair to say most Merc owners have got off pretty lightly as far as ad blue problems go.

My point was just to highlight that some cars can have ad blue in their tank for a good while.
I'm lucky, mine guzzles the stuff

 

[1 Cup]

2024
Adblue freezes as seen in missed pronounced adventures -30 YT . But it stays at that level on dashboard when frozen.
so even if you run out of adblue , just in the artic circle the vehicles runs ?. So do vehicles use less adblue in the frozen land scape. Or none at all?
Had mine over 3 years and 4 ten liter tubs uk only. Still on 3/4 of tank. So 10 liter a year ish

remove / adjust tank sensors. . What differences will it make ?.

Adblue =
is it mainly water ? With additives because at £ 1.00 a liter it's cheaper than coke / fanta

 

[Moped]

There must be plenty of early euro 6 cars which will have ad blue in their tanks for a year if not more, seeing as many still have over a 10 litre tank, and will consume ad blue at a third, or less, of the rate a light commercial does.
Anything Euro 6c or later can consume around 3 times as much as an early euro 6.

Thank you for that info. It explains why my Euro 6d Ducatto drinks so much adblue compared to many of the consumption figures offered in this thread. I am lucky to get around 1000 miles out of 10ltr, mainly 60mph highway cruising which ups the consumption considerably. Fiat claim 7ltr per 1000km for highway driving but only 2.5ltr per 1000km for urban or semi urban use.

Those quoting low consumption figures must be doing a lot of low speed urban type driving. But not on the highway tractor style I trust else you will give us motorhomers a bad name with the Stirling Moss types!

 

[QFour]

So because we always top up when there is around 5ltr left in the adblue tank there must be some adblue in there in the mix that is now almost 4 years old.

Unless of course the fresh adblue feeds a separate 5ltr smaller tank so that the 5ltr reserve always gets used first.

The reason I ask though is that over the years the fill up quantity has declined which suggests to me something is afoot.

The new just mixes with the old . I bought a couple of 25ltr bottles from ebay and we have been steadily using it.

 

[Fisherman]

I only fill up when the warning light comes on. This is down to the level of fluid in the adblue tank. I was surprised when the last fill only accepted 7.5 ltr post warning light in a 15ltr tank including the (alledgedly?) 5ltr reserve. In the early days 10ltr was normal.

Hence the question.

I will get the Wynns adblue additive which claims to decrystalize any crystal build up and see if that improves things. It may also improve adblue consumption so may pay for itself in time.

Just read the Fiat manual. They state never put an additive into your Adblu as it can damage the system. Page 211 of the manual .

 

[1 Cup]

Thank you for that info. It explains why my Euro 6d Ducatto drinks so much adblue compared to many of the consumption figures offered in this thread. I am lucky to get around 1000 miles out of 10ltr, mainly 60mph highway cruising which ups the consumption considerably. Fiat claim 7ltr per 1000km for highway driving but only 2.5ltr per 1000km for urban or semi urban use.

Those quoting low consumption figures must be doing a lot of low speed urban type driving. But not on the highway tractor style I trust else you will give us motorhomers a bad name with the Stirling Moss types!

I know the lorrys use more in traffic urban and less on motorways !

So local delivery' lorry use more. .

My thinking is at top gear 50mph = none / v little compared to miles / distances done . So 1st 2nd and 3rd gear use more is it a gearbox sensor thing ?.

As it is variables that's the best.

Liters used ?

100 miles drive =

10 mile drive =

2 mile drive =

 

[DTF]

If you do decide to drain the tank there are a few images early on in this article. I think the Boxer/Ducato and Relay use the same tank. The article itself covers a description of these tanks in some detail: https://www.elektroda.com/rtvforum/topic3827598.html

 

[Thistle]

My Crafter has a detachable flexible drain tube with a valve my tank holds over 20 litres.
When installing my shower tray I needed to drop the tank.

I drained the tank, the adblue then was probably 3 years old, still perfectly liquid so it went back in
I topped the tank up with fresh.

Always good practice to fully refil and read manual to check how long the vehicles ultrasonics need to register the refil before restarting the engine.

The old fluid didn’t cause any issues and has long since been peed out the zorst pipe.

 

[gasgas]

A quick Google search would seem to suggest that the 'reserve' works just like a Diesel tank reserve, ie you are alerted when it drops to a certain level.

In which case the remaining fluid is diluted with fresh every time you fill it.

I got my 2019 Mercedes Sprinter 10 months ago, and it was about 3/4 full of Adblu. (It has an Adblu tank gauge - though of course it is electronic). After about 3000 miles the level dropped to 50% and the 'refill Adblu' warning came on. As I have a photo of a smashed up Sprinter showing its huge Adblu tank exposed behind what would have been the front bumper, I had a theory it holds 20 litres. When the 'refill' warning came on I got a 10l plastic can of it from Aldi and poured it all in. It still said 'refill the adblu' for a week or so until one day the gauge read full, confirming more or less that a) the tank holds 20l, and b) that it is a filthy liar, I still had 10l to go, or 3000 miles before I needed to refill it. I also, (not related), had the 'replace key batteries' warning so I replaced the key batteries. For the following two weeks every time I started it up, I got the 'replace key batteries' warning. After about two-weeks-and-a-bit that warning went away.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Was in been & queued on Friday, I noticed they sell Adblue too, don't need it but looked quite cheap.

Carlube Diesel AdBlue™ 10L | DIY at B&Q

Carlube AdBlue is a light, colourless 32.5% Aqueous Urea Solution used with selective catalytic systems to reduce emissions of Nitrogen Oxides from the exhausts of diesel vehicles.

www.diy.com

 

[GMJ]

What are the implications though if the adblue runs out completely. I know the van will grind to a halt. Is there a red light warning that you are about to run out and need to pull over pronto?

And what about restarting after running out? Is this problematic.

A week yesterday the Adbue warning came on on my Audi. It stated something like "Top up Adbue 4.5 - 6.5 litres. 1500 miles left" or somesuch. I dudy filled it up and the warning stayed and then during the course of the week the same message came up each time I started it but the mileage ticked down 1400, 1300, 1200! I then rang our local Audi Indie who suggested bringing it in so he could run some diagnostics on it. No problem...but then yesterday - after a week - the warning disappeared!

Anyway - and to get to the point and to sort of answer your second point/question - he said that if the countdown had reached zero the car would not start. I can't speak for all makes/models though.

 

[GWAYGWAY]

Good answer!

I find filling from a container a PITA though as it always spills everywhere even with those that have screw on filler pipes.. The Ducatto filler point is in an awkward position. I always try and find and use a service station filler pump as this offers a clean fill.

But still a good answer!

What are the implications though if the adblue runs out completely. I know the van will grind to a halt. Is there a red light warning that you are about to run out and need to pull over pronto?

And what about restarting after running out? Is this problematic.

The garage pumps have a magnetic valve and there needs to be a magnetic attachment to the filler cap , this was to stop imbeciles pouring adblue into the fuel tank and creating havoc. I tried to get some from my local garage but nothing happened and then they told me about the magnetic filler cap on Lorries .

 

[Thistle]

@Pudsey Bear
That’s a very good price, I usually buy from Screwfix but that’s significantly cheaper

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Might be a short term offer, if it has a long shelf life it might be worth stocking up.

 

[Thistle]

Unopened shelf life in average temps is 18-24 months I’ve still got a fair bit in the last 10l thingy I bought.
The rinsed empty containers including spout are then very handy for keeping pre mixed washer fluid in!

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Unopened shelf life in average temps is 18-24 months I’ve still got a fair bit in the last 10l thingy I bought.
The rinsed empty containers including spout are then very handy for keeping pre mixed washer fluid in!

You must wash your screen a lot then