Halfords charge £15 for a 2 litre refillable bottle (starter kit)

I thought that was rather more expensive than previously quoted, it's actually 4 litres.

 

And then they do a 10 litre for £19.99 which is pretty good.

 

So I'll get the starter kit and then fill up next time from the 10 litre.

 

That's better than using the 1 litre from Skoda which would need refilling a number of times to fill the tank back up.

 

leaky 5 - what's the 4 litre bottle like to handle when refilling?

Edited 12 April, 201610 yr by VAGCF

Sorry your right it is 4 litres (I got one last week) then got  a 10 litre drum from a garage for £15.

Because its heavier, don't let the bottle push down before you have screwed it on. Its also a little tight for space to get your fingers down to tighten it up.

Thanks for that, I'll hold it and get my wife to tighten it, she's got smaller hands than me!

The 4 L bottle was easy to handle, I did not screw it in, maybe thats why there was a tiny bit of spillage.

The 4 L bottle was easy to handle, I did not screw it in, maybe thats why there was a tiny bit of spillage.

That sounds more like a leaky4

O.K. I've just refilled my 150tdi Yeti for the second time.

The Halfords 4 litre pack is poor value and the connector doesn't fit well as the Yeti has an inset filler in the boot floor.

I re-used the 1.89 litre scew on bottle I bought from my Skoda dealer last time and just kept re-filling it .

I cut off the anti screw off notches on the spout to make it easy.

It took about 7 litres for a complete refill and took about 15 minutes.

Next time I'll just buy the cheapest 10 litre refill container to use with my screw on bottle.

Probably my Skoda Dealer.

(Quick edit .I'm just coming up to 12,000 miles so It looks like about 6000 miles between Adblue refills,)

Edited 15 April, 201610 yr by bilun777

Thanks for that Bilun and timely.

 

I'd had a quick look at the filler before the warning came on and when Coaster mentioned about screwing the bottle on I thought that sounds tricky given the recessed nature of the filler.

 

I ordered a bumper protector yesterday and had already decided that I was going to get the small Skoda refill bottle as a backup plan if I had problems with the Halfords container when I collect the protector on Monday. So as well as that I'll get a 10 litre container probably from Halfords, which is much better value than the 4 litres.

 

Anyone know if the cost of 10 litres from Skoda is still around the £13 mark as per the OP? If so, that's even better value and I'll get that.

Edited 15 April, 201610 yr by VAGCF

Today I received my 1500 mile warning, 6264 miles driven from new.

I ran it until it showed about 600 miles remaining, then added 5 litres.

Today I got the second AdBlue warning at 11,862 miles.

Assuming it had 9 litres from new, + the 5 litres I added in January, and it'll go another 1500 miles to 13,362, that works out at 954 miles/litre.

Skoda suggest 1.5L/1000km or 414 miles/litre, so I'm seeing much lower usage.

Today I got the second AdBlue warning at 11,862 miles.

 

Strange to get a warning at that mileage!

Did you do the following in the manual?

 

Before driving

After filling AdBlue® only switch on the ignition and leave it on for at least 30s, so that the refilling can be recognized by the system.

Only then start the engine.

Strange to get a warning at that mileage!

Did you do the following in the manual?

Before driving

After filling AdBlue® only switch on the ignition and leave it on for at least 30s, so that the refilling can be recognized by the system.

Only then start the engine.

The system is constantly monitoring fill level so waiting 30 seconds isn't required

Strange to get a warning at that mileage!

Did you do the following in the manual?

 

Before driving

After filling AdBlue® only switch on the ignition and leave it on for at least 30s, so that the refilling can be recognized by the system.

Only then start the engine.

I did wait 30 sec... but why do you think that's a strange mileage?

I did wait 30 sec... but why do you think that's a strange mileage?

I thought the warning would be nearer to 1500 miles.

I thought the warning would be nearer to 1500 miles.

I don't understand, I just got my second 1500 mile remaining AdBlue warning at 11,862 miles. That seems perfectly reasonable.

Got my first (1500 mile) warning yesterday at 4018 miles on the clock.

Got my first (1500 mile) warning yesterday at 4018 miles on the clock.

 

That seems early. What kind of driving do you do? What's your average fuel consumption like?

It does, but then my car has seemed like a bit of a "Friday Afternoon" job since I got it, rattles behind dash, missing boot torch, Oil warning light came on at 300miles... I wanted it run in hard but was delivered with 100miles on the clock and driven by a guy who wouldn't do that for me, my friend with exactly the same car ran hers in hard for the first 20 miles at my suggestion and gets far better economy on same trips (tested) and what feels like noticeably more power.

 

It's a 150tdi DSG L&K, averaged 41.5mpg over that 4k period and that's with a lot of "nannying" driving to get MPG up, if I drive what I'd call normally I get about 37mpg on my 13mile commute, 30% town with a little stop/start and 70% dual-carriageway @ 70mph. If I drive like a saint on that trip and don't go much over 60mph or touch the accelerator I can see up to 46mpg. On a very careful long trip (100's of miles) I can get 50mpg. That friend drives at 80mph with no effort taken on economy and frequent overtaking and can still see up to 50mpg on the same trip. :\ Her car's done about 3200 miles. My driving is mainly that commute with long trips thrown in about once a month. Her trips are the odd commute and lots of round town school runs etc.

 

I may sound bitter about it.

Edited 19 April, 201610 yr by Jimrod

*Sorry can't edit my previous post again*

 

Actually the only potential difference with my Yeti is that it's a newer build, I think mid October 2015 (vs Friend's being August/September) - mine had the newer (worse) rear view mirror, there is I guess some potential for VW Group to have messed with the engine in light of the emissions scandal, though this particular engine shouldn't have been affected. I know they're now saying they can reduce emissions with no impact on performance or economy but in a like for like comparison with essentially the same car a few months older mine is definitely worse off on both counts! Pure speculation of course but with modern tolerances I'm not sure how else my car would be noticeably so much worse...

Has anyone noticed if there is a "best before date" on their adblue that would negate

any advantage gained by stocking up, should you find adblue at bargain prices?

I was wondering this as when I get my 1.8 and 10 litre supplies this week I will have some over. And given that it's been around 10 months to my first refill it will be about the same until the next.

 

I think I read somewhere that it's best to keep it in the dark?

 

Edit: From the link that Urrell posted previously:

 

Storage and dispensing:

 

Use dedicated equipment for storage and dispensing.

Store the AdBlue between -6°C and 25°C in a closed

container to maintain minimum shelf life of 18 months.

Shelf life is reduced to approximately 6 months in a

vented container.

Do not store AdBlue in direct sunlight. UV radiation is

harmful to AdBlue.

Do not use fuel or lubricants or any non-dedicated

equipment for your AdBlue.

Do not use AdBlue containers with broken seals.

Only use refilled AdBlue containers which are sealed

and clean (i.e.: IBC, drums).

 

Greenchem

Edited 19 April, 201610 yr by VAGCF

I noticed my Esso garage (as I was leaving) has 4/5litre Air-1, on their forecourt at a lower price than Halfords.

Picked up my 1.8 litre and 10 litre containers from the Skoda dealer today. The 10 litre was £13.03 (Inc. VAT) so much better than Halfords at £20.00

 

You tend to automatically assume that things are cheaper at non-dealer outlets but certainly not in this case.

 

I shall be sticking with the dealer in the future unless there is a sudden increase in price relative to other sources.

 

Noticed on the 1.8 litre that it says to discard after 2 years. Probably some leeway in that, especially as some will be sitting in the tank for longer than that if you refill close to the expiry date.

Picked up my 1.8 litre and 10 litre containers from the Skoda dealer today. The 10 litre was £13.03 (Inc. VAT) so much better than Halfords at £20.00

 

You tend to automatically assume that things are cheaper at non-dealer outlets but certainly not in this case.

 

I shall be sticking with the dealer in the future unless there is a sudden increase in price relative to other sources.

 

Noticed on the 1.8 litre that it says to discard after 2 years. Probably some leeway in that, especially as some will be sitting in the tank for longer than that if you refill close to the expiry date.

BP is £12 and has a filler pipe, unlike the VAG stuff

Yes, but does the filler pipe fit well? That's why I bought the VWG 1.8 litre bottle like others have done, which is made for the job, and refill with that.

 

Don't know what car you have but don't forget the tank in the Yeti is under the rear floor, not behind the filler flap, and so a little trickier to fill and to avoid spillage.

Did the replenishment today.

 

Using the 1.8 litre and refilling from the 10 litre works well, so thanks for the tips on that method.

 

Good job that most Yetis don't do mega miles per year. Whilst straightforward I wouldn't want to be doing it on a frequent basis. 

 

Good job that Audis and VW's etc. that more often do high annual mileages have larger tanks and external fillers.