AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Carrickaness, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the motor has run since it went in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether your car is around Carrickaness itself or out in Eglish. Normally that is emptying and properly flushing it on the spot in Carrickaness — and so keep the key and motor off then call 0333 366 0103. Pull over the moment you safely can then switch off, if it has been run. Stage one remains the same, even if the job grows.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in County Armagh it happened.
Carrickaness forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
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. It could be the the nearest petrol station, or perhaps the another forecourt nearby, or another forecourt around Carrickaness.
What it means: this is the best spot to find out. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
What to do: do not get back in and crank it to clear the pump. Have the staff to help rolling it into a bay, save the receipt, then phone us right there. Stuck by the petrol pump? Explosion-proof kit makes a live forecourt sensible, so it can be drained where it is.
At home in Carrickaness with AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dash had been nagging you. Picked up a bottle, poured it in outside the house, recycled the empty — and at that point checked the cap a second time, too late. Right off South Crescent is no different from any other place.
The point: no miles since makes this almost equal to spotting it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue settles to the base of your tank and stays there, no matter how long the night.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so no one moves your car in the morning. Then ring. Out in Benburb or here around Carrickaness, the draining happens at your drive. Night-time empties outside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
Carrickaness: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A short way beyond topping up, the motor started misbehaving: rough running, smoke, lost power, lights on the dash. Possibly it was on Chalet Road, possibly on the way out towards Armagh, under 10 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled into your fuel system. Distance sets how deep it gets: filter and pipework first, then the injection pump and every injector. Each restart, like every mile, carries it on.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so then switch off. Carrickaness sits over 50 miles from the M77; on it, pull off at the first junction instead of pushing on for the services. Do not restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Tell us hear the distance driven as you ring.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It's a car you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel filler, which you didn't know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anyone, anywhere around County Armagh, might make the same.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it has run, with one more stage. Plenty of hire and company contracts require the owner's sign-off before repairs.
Sorting it before the van turn up is quicker, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. Stranded by the centre or outside the nearest station until someone replies, your car stays switched off throughout.
Carrickaness: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Sometimes the honest answer is "I think so". Lighter, the bottle; a hint of ammonia round the filler; a hazy recollection of the cap. Sound familiar? A rushed stop by the gates of the local primary school, or a call to a friend in Charlemont: both fit.
Put simply: a spill round the filler leaves your engine no harm. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Assume it went in, and never turn your engine. Inspecting a tank that turns out clean beats emptying one once it has been run — so ring then tell us what you noticed.
What every AdBlue drain in Carrickaness has in common
The work opens the same way, whichever your situation. Filling station, driveway, the pub in the village's car park or a street by a street just off the centre — the van reaches your vehicle, and three questions come next: which liquid, what quantity, and if it has run. The price is given on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and those answers shape the work.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at some metals used in fuel systems, and so it does not rinse out on its own; that is why the flush, after the drain, matters far more with AdBlue than with petrol. Your filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. The majority of unstarted vehicles are a half-hour job from the moment our engineers turn up.
We start it last. Our test that it runs properly on fresh diesel comes before we head off. When it's spotted quickly, the vehicle very seldom has permanent damage, and the entire job happens where it is. Paying comes on the day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. Worth knowing: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a check of your documents while we travel is worthwhile.
About Carrickaness itself
Carrickaness is a small locality in County Armagh, situated inland at an elevation of 72 metres, approximately 5.3 miles from the city of Armagh. Carrickaness is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its rural setting. Carrickaness is close to several nearby villages, including Benburb, Blackwatertown, and Killylea, and is home to around 544 residents.
AdBlue drains about Carrickaness and across County Armagh
Carrickaness is a small village, and the same vans that cover it work the places near it too, Blackwatertown and Killylea among them, across the BT postcode area. A postcode starting BT71 7 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Parked heading to the green space at the edge of the village, or bang in the heart of Carrickaness, your car remains put — there is no need to shift it anywhere. Our technicians drain it where it is. Phone and check instead of guessing when you're close to the far end of the built-up part, on a boundary, or somewhere tricky to pin down.
Your situation, in one line
Still unrun? Leave it that way then phone. Already run: stop, switch off and call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Carrickaness and anywhere in County Armagh on 0333 366 0103.