Preventing AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Craiglockhart: Why It Happens
AdBlue already in the diesel tank? In that case put this page aside a moment, leave the ignition and motor off, then call 0333 366 0103. Around Craiglockhart, finding it before the motor turns normally means a drain and a full flush where it stands. If you're reading before it has happened, the rest of this page is about why it occurs and how to make sure it does not.
AdBlue in a diesel car: two tanks, two fillers
Diesel goes to your engine — yet many newer diesels seen round Craiglockhart and Greenbank hold another fluid too. AdBlue's own tank holds it, and from there it is sent to the exhaust, where a spray treats the fumes.
Each tank has its own filler. Some vehicles put the AdBlue filler in the boot or under the bonnet; a lot of others place the two side by side under one flap. Diesel gets filled at every filling station visit, again and again. The AdBlue side is topped up far less regularly, usually from a bottle, and normally by someone who has to stop and think where it goes. That gap is where the slip lives.
How does AdBlue in the diesel tank take place in Craiglockhart?
It is seldom carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
Hurry comes from the warning. The vehicle warns you as AdBlue runs low, and an empty tank puts it into limp mode — so the top-up happens in a rush, before work on a driveway off Glenlockhart Valley, or heading home in the car park outside Village Inn.
The old car's filler is where the hand reaches — yet a rental car, a new vehicle or a company car puts the fillers somewhere else. That is a second factor: an unfamiliar vehicle.
And the bottle fits. A bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one, and so nothing stops the pour after it has started. It's seconds, be it in Slateford or right in the centre of Craiglockhart.
How to tell the AdBlue filler from the diesel one
Check these first, on a forecourt around Craiglockhart or a drive out in Merchiston. Seconds, no more.
- Read the cap rather than going by position: AdBlue ones are frequently blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel ones usually are not.
- On plenty of motors, the size gives it away: AdBlue has the smaller filler neck.
- The flap. Look inside the fuel flap for a label. Plenty of vehicles say there which fuel goes where.
- The handbook shows where it lives when your filler isn't next to the diesel cap: the boot, or under the bonnet.
- The previous driver knows. Check as you collect a hire car or fleet car — from Slateford's car park, say — rather than once the warning appears.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach your diesel tank
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever across City of Edinburgh that is.
- Stop on level, motor off, with time in hand — never hurried on the side of Craiglockhart Road North.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds silly and it does the trick.
- Both under a single flap? Then make sure the cap on your diesel side stays shut before raising the bottle.
- Finish once the tank fills or the bottle runs dry; until then, pour slowly through the built-in spout.
- Only after that, start the car: close the cap, check again, and make sure your diesel cap was never opened.
Spot at stage two or three that it has already gone into your diesel side? So stop just there. Never carry on to stage five.
Put AdBlue in the diesel tank in Craiglockhart already?
Don't start your motor: that is where the short order of things begins. On many diesels your ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so do not switch it on. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where the fuel is pulled from — so do not top up with diesel to thin it.
On a forecourt — BP, Asda or another — the attendants will usually help push the vehicle away, if you ask. On your own drive around Craiglockhart? Then your car remains put.
If your motor has already run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. Craiglockhart sits under 3 miles from the M8; on it, take the next junction. A short hop across Craiglockhart is a smaller job than a run towards Edinburgh, under 3 miles away, so tell us roughly how far it went.
Craiglockhart: what happens when our engineers get there
Our technicians come to the car wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside the local primary school, close to Craiglockhart Tennis Courts or on your own driveway. What fluid was put in, the quantity, and whether it ran: our technicians ask because those answers decide both work and quote. On the call itself, you are told our quote — before dispatch.
Then your tank is cleared and your system rinsed thoroughly. Not like petrol, AdBlue forms crystals and attacks certain fuel-system metals, and none of that washes out unaided. Hence it matters more. Your filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. We do not go until it has been fired up and is running smoothly.
Unstarted cars mostly mean a half-hour visit from arrival. The kit is safe on a busy filling station, and quiet enough for a driveway after dark. Paying is on the day, not upfront, and you are given the documents an insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. While we travel, take a look at your policy; plenty carry cover for misfuelling.
About Craiglockhart
Craiglockhart is a suburban area in the City of Edinburgh, situated near the Water of Leith and approximately 2.9 miles from Edinburgh city centre. Craiglockhart sits at an elevation of around 97 metres, with detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation in the area. Craiglockhart is close to nearby places such as Slateford, Colinton Mains, and Morningside, and is home to a population of around 3238 people.
AdBlue drains around Craiglockhart and across City of Edinburgh
As a residential suburb, Craiglockhart has the same vans as nearby areas — Colinton Mains, Morningside — right across EH postcodes and the surrounding area beyond. Fastest of all: quote a EH14 1 postcode to the van.
No need to move the vehicle. A drive, a lay-by on the way to Thorny hedge, a side street close to Craiglockhart Vickers Wellington X3707 Memorial Cairn: we drain the vehicle where it stands. Ring and ask instead of guessing if you are close to a boundary, or somewhere hard to explain, like the back of Craiglockhart Tennis Centre.
For Craiglockhart motorists, the short version
First, the cap; then, the pour. Still AdBlue in the diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel can drain it wherever it is, anywhere around City of Edinburgh: switch the vehicle off then call 0333 366 0103.