What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Clothall Common
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if the engine has run since it got in. Not run so far? Then keep it like that, whether your car is — Clothall Common or Radwell. Switch nothing on, call 0333 366 0103, and expect a proper flush after a drain, done just where your car sits around Clothall Common. Already started? Stop when you safely can, then switch it off. The job is bigger, yet the first step is the same.
Further down: the cases our technicians meet, wherever in Hertfordshire. Pick the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Clothall Common forecourt
Picture it: standing by the petrol pump, holding the bottle, you spot the filler you took off was not the right one. It could be the Whitehorse Service Station, or perhaps the Tesco Extra, or a different station in Clothall Common.
Meaning? Finding out here is as good as it gets. Still inside your tank, with nothing pulled onwards: that is where the AdBlue sits.
What to do: don't get back in and crank it to clear the petrol pump. Have the attendants to lend a hand pushing it to a bay, hold on to the bottle, then ring us from there. Draining it there at the petrol pump is fine if it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
Clothall Common, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dashboard had been warning you. Bought a bottle, tipped it in at home, recycled the empty — and at that point looked at the cap again, too late. Houses just off Mercia Road are hit as much as anywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the vehicle in the morning. Then ring. Baldock or Clothall Common: whichever your driveway is, that's where it gets drained. Late-night drains beside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Clothall Common?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Possibly it was on Bush Spring, perhaps on the way out towards St Albans, under 25 miles away.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has taken the AdBlue up. Mileage sets how far it gets: filter and lines to begin with, then the high-pressure pump and each injector. More driving, more restarts: further it goes.
Next: pick a safe place, stop, and turn your motor off. Services farther along are too far: from the A1(M), under a mile out of Clothall Common, take the next junction. Starting it again to check gets nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. Roughly how far did it gone? Say so as you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have just driven this vehicle a week. The AdBlue filler is right beside the diesel one, which you did not know, since your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anyone, wherever in Hertfordshire, could make the same.
In short: an extra stage on top of the cases above, and those depend on if it's run. Many rental and company contracts need the owner's approval before work.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before we turn up than after. Keep it off while the answer comes, even if you're parked at Baldock or near Roman Settlement.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, in Clothall Common
"I think so" is sometimes as honest as it gets. A faint ammonia-like smell hangs around the filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is hard to recall. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Hartsfield Junior Mixed and Infant School, or on a friend's drive in Clothall.
The upshot: your motor is not harmed by some AdBlue splashed on the filler. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will suck in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Do this: behave as if it did, and never start the engine. Call us and describe what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Every AdBlue drain in Clothall Common shares these stages
The job opens identically, whatever the case. Forecourt, drive, The Hen and Chickens's car park or a road beside Baldock United Reform Church — the van reaches your car, and three answers come next: which fluid, what amount, and whether it has run. Those answers determine the work, and you get our price by phone, before anyone heads out.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to some metals used in fuel systems, and so it won't wash out unaided; that's why a full flush, after this drain, matters much more here than with petrol. Finally come your filter, flushed or replaced if necessary; fresh diesel; and a check of your car. Never started? In that case roughly half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
Last, our technicians start it. We make sure it runs properly on new diesel before leaving. Lasting damage is very unusual if it's noticed early, and the entire job is done where your car is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, nothing upfront. It is worth knowing: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your documents as we travel pays.
About Clothall Common
Clothall Common is a suburban area in Hertfordshire, situated inland at an elevation of 74 metres, approximately 33.4 miles from London. Clothall Common lies near several nearby places, including Baldock, Norton, and Bygrave, and is around 17.8 miles from the city of St Albans. Clothall Common has a population of around 3807 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Clothall Common is characterized by its residential community and rural surroundings.
AdBlue drains across Hertfordshire, Clothall Common included
Norton and Bygrave have the same vans as Clothall Common, a residential suburb, plus further towns over SG postcodes. Your location comes quickest from a postcode that starts SG7 6.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Avenue Park or in a car park in the middle of Clothall Common, it doesn't need to move. Draining happens on the spot. Guessing doesn't help near Baldock Library, on a border or somewhere hard to describe; phone and check.
The one-line version
Motor never started: ring, and leave it alone. Run already: pull over, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, in Clothall Common or wherever across Hertfordshire.