AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Charleston: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether your motor has run since it went in. Out in Fiddlers Green or here around Charleston, an unrun motor should remain unrun. Switch nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, then expect a proper flush plus a drain, done just where your vehicle stands in Charleston. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, yet the first step is the same.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever in Aberdeenshire it happened.
Charleston forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You're 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 Shell, or a different forecourt in Charleston.
Put simply: no better spot to be to spot it. Just the tank holds AdBlue; not one part past it has drawn it in.
Next: resist the urge to start it only to move away from the petrol pump. A few jobs: a shove into a bay with the attendants assisting, the bottle saved, and a call to us from where you stand. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a live forecourt, and so a car that can't be pushed away is drained where it is at the pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Charleston drive?
Days had passed with the dash light on. Bought a container, tipped it in at home, recycled the empty — and only then checked the cap a second time, after the fact. Just off Bridge Street is not different from anywhere.
Meaning? Provided your vehicle has not moved since, it's close to the forecourt case. As it is reluctant to blend, AdBlue drops low in that tank and waits. One night standing alters nothing.
Put the keys in the house overnight — or a person might drive it away first thing — then phone us. Your drive is where it gets emptied, whether in Charleston or St Combs. Our equipment works quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
Charleston: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A short way after filling up, the motor started misbehaving: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on your dash. Possibly it was on Braeheads, possibly on the way out towards Aberdeen, under 50 miles away.
Meaning? The fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue up. Through the fuel filter, through the lines, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the high-pressure pump and every injector. It travels deeper with each extra mile covered and every restart.
Stop somewhere safe — that is the next job — then switch everything off. Service stations further on are too far: on the M90, over 50 miles out of Charleston, use the next junction. No test restarts: clearing is not something AdBlue will do. Roughly what distance had it go? Tell us as you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
It is a motor you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler sits right beside the diesel filler, which you did not know, because your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Any driver, anywhere around Aberdeenshire, could do the same.
Meaning? Whichever applies above applies too — run or not — plus one extra step. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the car.
Next: ring the rental company or the fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is faster. If you are stuck in the car park outside the nearest station, or by St Combs Community Church, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Charleston?
Honestly, the best answer may be that you think so. A faint ammonia whiff hangs near your filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. Possibly it happened in a hurry at the school gates at the local primary school, or on a friend's drive in Crimonmogate.
The upshot: your engine is not harmed by some AdBlue splashed on the outside. Inside your diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue damages it. If there is AdBlue in that tank, turning on the car will draw it in, and it would not tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Do not crank it. Describe what you noticed on your phone. A clean tank checked counts as a better result than an already-run one drained.
The common ground in every Charleston AdBlue drain
Whatever the situation, a single start is used. Anywhere your vehicle is — the pub in the village's car park, a road beside Inverallochy Castle, a driveway, a filling station — the van gets there and we ask about the fluid, the quantity, plus if your motor has been run. Those replies decide this work, and you get our price on the phone, before anyone sets off.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it is crucial, because crystals form and certain metals corrode, and neither rinses out unaided. Your filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. If the engine has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Starting the engine comes at the end. With fresh diesel in, it runs while our technicians confirm it's running smoothly, and then we leave. If it's noticed quickly, the vehicle very seldom has long-term damage, and the whole job happens where it is. Nothing is paid upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you receive what your insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About Charleston and where it is
Charleston is a small suburban area situated on the coast of Aberdeenshire, with a low elevation of around 7 metres above sea level. Charleston lies within a short distance of several nearby settlements, including St Combs, Inverallochy, and Cairnbulg, and is located approximately 35.9 miles from the city of Aberdeen. Charleston has a population of around 743 people, predominantly living in detached housing.
AdBlue drains around Charleston and across Aberdeenshire
Inverallochy and Cairnbulg have the identical teams as Charleston, a residential suburb, plus further places over AB postcodes. Quickest of all: a AB43 8 postcode for where you stand.
No moving is required, be it stopped in the centre of Charleston or in a layby en route to Inverallochy Golf Club, and so leave it put. Our technicians drain the car where it is. Assuming doesn't help near Inverallochy and Cairnbulg War Memorial, close to a border or anywhere awkward to describe; phone and ask.
Your situation, summed up
Engine not started: phone, and leave it alone. Already run: stop, switch off then call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Charleston and anywhere around Aberdeenshire on 0333 366 0103.