Brandon: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
Has your motor turned over since the AdBlue was put in? That one question settles almost everything else from here. Over in Santon Downham or here around Brandon, an unrun engine should stay that way. Leave the motor and your ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Brandon. Already run? Stop when safe, then turn everything off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Below: the situations our technicians meet, anywhere in Suffolk. Choose yours.
At the petrol pump around Brandon: AdBlue in a diesel
You are at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Possibly you're at the BP, possibly at the another forecourt nearby, maybe somewhere else in Brandon.
What it means: this is the ideal location to find out. No pump has drawn it through, and so the AdBlue stays only in your tank.
Next: resist the temptation to fire it up only to move away from the petrol pump. Three things: a push into a space with the attendants helping, the receipt saved, and a call to us from where you stand. Draining it there at the pump is fine when it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
Brandon, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On the dash, a warning had been lit for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. Homes just off Bury Road are caught out as often as anywhere else.
The point: zero driving since makes it almost equal to spotting it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue drops to the base of that tank and stays there, no matter how long it waits.
Next: prevent an early drive by keeping your keys indoors, then phone us. Town Street or Brandon: wherever your driveway sits, that's where it is drained. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
On the road in Brandon with AdBlue in a diesel
A short way beyond filling up, the motor began playing up: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on your dash. Anywhere along Thetford Road or else on the road to Ely — under 25 miles away.
The point: your system has drawn AdBlue in already. Mileage sets how deep it gets: filter and pipework to begin with, then the injection pump and each injector. Every restart, like each mile, carries it deeper.
Your move: pull up somewhere safe, then switch the engine off. Exit at the first junction — not the services further along — if you are on the M11, under 50 miles from Brandon. Starting it again to check gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Phone us and say how far you travelled.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have only had this vehicle a week. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel one, which you didn't know, because your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Wherever you are around Suffolk, any motorist could slip up.
Put simply: one extra step on top of the cases above, which turn on whether it has run. Work on your vehicle often needs the owner's approval under rental or company agreements.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before we arrive than after. Keep the car switched off while the reply arrives, whether you're parked at the nearest station or close to Brandon Town Sign.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Brandon?
Truthfully, the only answer may be that you think so. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia around your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. It might have been on a friend's driveway in Wangford, or rushing outside Forest Academy on the school run.
The upshot: the motor isn't harmed by some AdBlue spilled on the filler. In the diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. If there is AdBlue in the tank, starting the car would pull it in, and it would not tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't crank it. Inspecting a tank that turns out free of AdBlue beats draining one after it's been run — so ring and tell us what you saw.
The common ground in each Brandon AdBlue drain
No matter the situation, one opening is used. Anywhere the car stands — Flintknappers's car park, a road by Market Hill, a driveway, a filling station — the van arrives and we ask for the liquid, the quantity, plus if the engine has turned over. The price comes over the phone, before a van leaves, and those replies set the work.
Then the tank is drained and the system purged thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not rinse out on its own. Last come the filter, cleaned or renewed as needed; clean diesel; and a check of your vehicle. The majority of unstarted vehicles are a half-hour job from the moment our engineers arrive.
Lastly, our technicians start the car. Our test that it runs properly on clean diesel comes before our engineers leave. Lasting damage is very unusual if it's caught soon, and the whole job is done where the car is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Worth remembering: lots of insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy as you wait is worthwhile.
About Brandon and where it is
Brandon is a small town in Suffolk, situated on the River Little Ouse, with a mix of old and new buildings, including many detached homes. Brandon sits at a low elevation of around 13 metres, close to the Norfolk border. Brandon is located near other small communities, such as Town Street and Fengate, and is within commuting distance of larger cities like Ely. Brandon has a population of approximately 7855 people, living in a range of housing types, predominantly detached homes.
AdBlue drains about Brandon and across Suffolk
Fengate and Weeting get the same teams as Brandon, a riverside town, plus other places throughout IP postcodes. Fastest of all: a IP27 0 postcode to show your location.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to The Orchard or in a car park in the middle of Brandon, it does not need to move. Our engineers drain the vehicle where it is. Tricky to pin down? Close to Brandon Heritage Centre or a border? Checking beats guessing, and so phone.
Your situation, in one line
Where it has not started, ring and leave it that way. Run by now: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, in Brandon or wherever across Suffolk.