AddBlue?

[Silent1]

caelite said:

Truckosaurus said:

Halfords sell it.

It is mostly water so it might be worth googling "can i replace adblue with water" as I am sure the engine's sensors aren't clever enough to tell the difference.

Water does work, although eventually you will fk up your SCR running straight water through it, it'll work in a pinch though, hell if you remember to piss in it first then it might work perfectly, especially if you are a bit dehydrated!

Are you sure, I know of 2 different occasions where people have put water in the adblue tank of a tractor and the sensor can detect it so will not only it not run it also voids your warranty. Almost every tractor has a way to drive it without adblue for a short period by following a sequence in the manual, it's usually 3 periods of 30 minutes and then you have to refill it otherwise it locks out and it's an expensive dealer call out to reset it.

[MDMA .]

8Ace said:

Oh hurray. Thank you. It's bothered me for a couple of years why the eco models are all badged with blue this and blue that. I thought surely green woudl be more appropriate and could not understand why blue was the new green. Now I do.

AdBlue/Blue Motion are not related.

[8Ace]

MDMA . said:

8Ace said:

Oh hurray. Thank you. It's bothered me for a couple of years why the eco models are all badged with blue this and blue that. I thought surely green woudl be more appropriate and could not understand why blue was the new green. Now I do.

AdBlue/Blue Motion are not related.

Really? Arse.

[MDMA .]

8Ace said:

Really? Arse.

BlueMotion just VW's eco arm. Blue for the VW coporate colours. Same as Mercedes has BlueTec.

[spookly]

MDMA . said:

8Ace said:

Really? Arse.

BlueMotion just VW's eco arm. Blue for the VW coporate colours. Same as Mercedes has BlueTec.

No, it isn't.

BlueMotion is just a marketing label for a bunch of different economy related technology added to almost any VW model. VW labels cars needing AdBlue with SCR (selective catalytic reduction).

[jackh707]

It's water with urea in it.

It's pretty much urine.

You could just piss in the tank.

[HTP99]

Most manufacturers use the term "Blue" for their more environmentally friendly cars; blue is fresh and high-tec and more futuristic, green is too earthy and a bit too hippy.

[Chris944_S2]

Silent1 said:

caelite said:

Truckosaurus said:

Halfords sell it.

It is mostly water so it might be worth googling "can i replace adblue with water" as I am sure the engine's sensors aren't clever enough to tell the difference.

Water does work, although eventually you will fk up your SCR running straight water through it, it'll work in a pinch though, hell if you remember to piss in it first then it might work perfectly, especially if you are a bit dehydrated!

Are you sure, I know of 2 different occasions where people have put water in the adblue tank of a tractor and the sensor can detect it so will not only it not run it also voids your warranty. Almost every tractor has a way to drive it without adblue for a short period by following a sequence in the manual, it's usually 3 periods of 30 minutes and then you have to refill it otherwise it locks out and it's an expensive dealer call out to reset it.

I don't know about automotive engines, but the ones in tractors and other kind of non-road equipment usually have:
- a urea quality sensor
- NOx sensor(s) monitoring SCR efficiency
The ECU will easily pick up on just water. You may be able to get away with diluting it, but to what extent depends on how it was programmed.
Removing the sensors will also be picked up on by the ECU and end up locking it out.

Just using water will not fk up the SCR, unless the water is contaminated with chemicals that can poison it. AdBlue is 77.5% water anyway.

AdBlue is not expensive, its really not worth the hassle of trying to fiddle with it. You can find it in most (all?) petrol stations, and any automotive shops.

[750turbo]

Chris944_S2 said:

...

AdBlue is not expensive, its really not worth the hassle of trying to fiddle with it. You can find it in most (all?) petrol stations, and any automotive shops.

Exactly - Although Service Stations on Mways will really take the piss...

Ebay - 20L for £20 is the way to go if you cannot get it at the price locally.

[Willy Nilly]

Chris944_S2 said:

Silent1 said:

caelite said:

Truckosaurus said:

Halfords sell it.

It is mostly water so it might be worth googling "can i replace adblue with water" as I am sure the engine's sensors aren't clever enough to tell the difference.

Water does work, although eventually you will fk up your SCR running straight water through it, it'll work in a pinch though, hell if you remember to piss in it first then it might work perfectly, especially if you are a bit dehydrated!

Are you sure, I know of 2 different occasions where people have put water in the adblue tank of a tractor and the sensor can detect it so will not only it not run it also voids your warranty. Almost every tractor has a way to drive it without adblue for a short period by following a sequence in the manual, it's usually 3 periods of 30 minutes and then you have to refill it otherwise it locks out and it's an expensive dealer call out to reset it.

I don't know about automotive engines, but the ones in tractors and other kind of non-road equipment usually have:
- a urea quality sensor
- NOx sensor(s) monitoring SCR efficiency
The ECU will easily pick up on just water. You may be able to get away with diluting it, but to what extent depends on how it was programmed.
Removing the sensors will also be picked up on by the ECU and end up locking it out.

Just using water will not fk up the SCR, unless the water is contaminated with chemicals that can poison it. AdBlue is 77.5% water anyway.

AdBlue is not expensive, its really not worth the hassle of trying to fiddle with it. You can find it in most (all?) petrol stations, and any automotive shops.

What will happen is that the ecu will see NOX too high to add some urea, but it's water. The NOX doesn't go down, so it adds some more. It still doesn't go down, so it adds even more. It still hasn't gone down and it can't pump any more urea so the engine derates to virtaully nothing.

I had a sensor fail on my tractor and it de-rated. When the tech came out to it he was telling me that one of the customers had the Adblue mapped out of it. It ran fine for a while until the catalyst failed due to no urea and he got a bill for £10,000, which would be more than the tractor would use in adblue through its whole life.

[thepeoplespal]

Adblue has been used in trucks for ages to reduce NoX, it does go off so probably best not to store for a long time, but getting it from a truck stop is probably a cheaper option than most as it is not fairy juice that can only be bought from the maker, it has a Standard ISO 22241 which ensures it is compatible.

The blue cap in this pic is where you can do the refill:

Edited by thepeoplespal on Monday 3rd April 18:35

[Twig62]

We have some Transit vans at work and they need the Ad Blue topping up every 4-5 thousand miles.

[caelite]

Chris944_S2 said:

Silent1 said:

caelite said:

Truckosaurus said:

Halfords sell it.

It is mostly water so it might be worth googling "can i replace adblue with water" as I am sure the engine's sensors aren't clever enough to tell the difference.

Water does work, although eventually you will fk up your SCR running straight water through it, it'll work in a pinch though, hell if you remember to piss in it first then it might work perfectly, especially if you are a bit dehydrated!

Are you sure, I know of 2 different occasions where people have put water in the adblue tank of a tractor and the sensor can detect it so will not only it not run it also voids your warranty. Almost every tractor has a way to drive it without adblue for a short period by following a sequence in the manual, it's usually 3 periods of 30 minutes and then you have to refill it otherwise it locks out and it's an expensive dealer call out to reset it.

I don't know about automotive engines, but the ones in tractors and other kind of non-road equipment usually have:
- a urea quality sensor
- NOx sensor(s) monitoring SCR efficiency
The ECU will easily pick up on just water. You may be able to get away with diluting it, but to what extent depends on how it was programmed.
Removing the sensors will also be picked up on by the ECU and end up locking it out.

Just using water will not fk up the SCR, unless the water is contaminated with chemicals that can poison it. AdBlue is 77.5% water anyway.

AdBlue is not expensive, its really not worth the hassle of trying to fiddle with it. You can find it in most (all?) petrol stations, and any automotive shops.

Sorry should have clarified, tap water will clog the SCR over time, particularly in areas with hard water (Scotland you might be fine! ). AdBlue specifically uses demineralised water for this reason as limescale buildup will ruin the filter.

Oh I never realised Euro 6 units had NOx units downpipe of the SCR, we tested it out for a bit of a laugh in our SCR equipped E5 DAF 105 MX13 just to see if it would work, it did. Our E6 Merc Aroc actually has warnings all over the tank saying that putting water in it will damage the system, being as that is a new truck within its warranty, we havn't tried it in that... yet.

Should also point out, be careful how long you keep barrels of Adblue for, they only have a 6 month or so shelf life so you can't just keep a tub of it in the van just in case. When they go off the urea seperates and solidifies into big clumps which bugger the system if you try to run it through.

[Willy Nilly]

Some questions answered about DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) from Cummins.

https://cumminsfiltration.com/sites/default/files/...

[sparks_E39]

Bristol spark said:

My van has brought up a message and warning light after only 4K miles telling me that it will be out of Addblue in 1150 Miles.



4: If only id bought a VW

You'd be in the same situation as VW's have the Adblue system too.

[spookly]

750turbo said:

Chris944_S2 said:

...

AdBlue is not expensive, its really not worth the hassle of trying to fiddle with it. You can find it in most (all?) petrol stations, and any automotive shops.

Exactly - Although Service Stations on Mways will really take the piss...

Ebay - 20L for £20 is the way to go if you cannot get it at the price locally.

That is quite expensive. It's about 50-60p maximum at any filling stations which have an adblue pump, often far cheaper. Usually to be found in places that HGVs frequent.

[Jag_NE]

750turbo said:

Chris944_S2 said:

...

AdBlue is not expensive, its really not worth the hassle of trying to fiddle with it. You can find it in most (all?) petrol stations, and any automotive shops.

Exactly - Although Service Stations on Mways will really take the piss...

Ebay - 20L for £20 is the way to go if you cannot get it at the price locally.

not at all. its 70p a litre at the filling station that I use, the cars can use the pumps just as the trucks do.

you will need to check it fits obviously but my mate with an A6 uses the filling station ones just fine.

my euro6 diesel ran all the way to 20k and its first service without needing a top up, obviously this will vary a lot from car to car based upon adblue tank size and the engine out NOx.

remember as well that you will get the adblue topped up as part of the service so i don't think many drivers will need to top up the adblue that frequently and when they do, it will only cost about a tenner.

note that SCR and Adblue can allow an engine to be calibrated to deliver better fuel economy (i.e. be dirtier at the manifold). you might spend a few quid on Adblue every 6 months but you may well be saving overall based upon better fuel economy.

euro6 diesels are great IMO, all the media furore right now is related to banning pre-Euro6 diesels only and will take some time to implement, even then it may not affect you depending upon where you live. despite this people aren't well informed enough to read between the lines so are putting off buying cars which is bad for the industry, the economy and the environment (its likely that a new one will be more enviro friendly than older one, typically).

Edited by Jag_NE on Monday 3rd April 19:08

[RammyMP]

It's cheaper to buy it from a fuel wholesaler, usually about £10 for a 10l container. Find your nearest using this website: http://www.findadblue.com

Generally VW group cars don't come out of the factory with the adblue tanks full. My A5 uses about 2l per 1000 miles.

[Bristol spark]

Thanks guys, there is a Halfords in town, so will see if they have some.

Just tried find adblue.com, my nearest station is 11 Miles away, only 1 station in the whole of Bristol listed!


If only we had the option of having a nice simple Petrol engines in this country

[Jag_NE]

RammyMP said:

It's cheaper to buy it from a fuel wholesaler, usually about £10 for a 10l container. Find your nearest using this website: http://www.findadblue.com

Generally VW group cars don't come out of the factory with the adblue tanks full. My A5 uses about 2l per 1000 miles.

its not, you can buy it from filling stations for much less than that. mine is 70p a litre but someone else said theirs is 60p. also no need to store it.