AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Ellon, and What to Do Next
Has the engine run since the AdBlue went in? That one question decides almost everything about what comes next. Over in Kinharrachie or here around Ellon, an unrun engine should remain that way. Normally that means emptying and properly flushing it right there around Ellon — and so leave the key and motor off and call 0333 366 0103. Stop the minute it is safe and turn off, if it has been run. Stage one remains unchanged, even if the work is bigger.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever across Aberdeenshire it happened.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Ellon forecourt
Only at this point, bottle yet in hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the pump. Be it Esso, another forecourt nearby or somewhere else around Ellon, the case is identical.
The point: of all places to notice, the forecourt is the best. Only that tank holds AdBlue; no component beyond it has taken any in.
Clearing the petrol pump is no excuse to start it — and so do not get back in. Three things: a shove into a space with the staff helping, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from where you stand. Draining it right at the pump is possible when it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Ellon drive?
For days the dash had been nagging you. A bottle bought at the garage, tipped in at the driveway — and it's just by the recycling that the cap got your eye. Right off Market Street is not different from anywhere.
Meaning? As long as your vehicle hasn't been driven since, it is close to the pump case. Being unable to mix, AdBlue drops to the base inside that tank and stays. A night standing changes nothing.
Keep your keys in the house overnight — otherwise someone may drive it away at breakfast — then phone us. Craighall or Ellon: whichever your drive sits, that's where it is drained. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Ellon?
Rough running, smoke, falling power or a lit dashboard started a mile or two after the top-up. Bridge Street, say, or the route towards Aberdeen — a run of under 15 miles.
The upshot: your system has pulled AdBlue through by now. Past the fuel filter, through the pipework, and — the further the mileage — on into the injection pump and each injector. Every restart, like every mile, carries it deeper.
Stop somewhere safe — that's the next job — then switch everything off. Exit at the next junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M90, over 50 miles from Ellon. No trial starts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue will do. Call us and say how far you drove.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
Seven days back, the car was new to you. The AdBlue filler is right beside the diesel one, which you did not know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around Aberdeenshire.
The upshot: exactly as above, split by if it ran, only with one added step. Any work on your car often requires the owner's approval under hire or fleet agreements.
Next: ring the rental company or the fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before we arrive is quicker. Waiting for an answer at the car park outside Dyce, or beside Otter Sculpture? Leave the engine off throughout.
Ellon: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Now and then, "I think so" is all you can truthfully say. A slight ammonia-like smell hangs near the filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. A hurried stop by the gates of the local primary school, or a visit to a friend in Kirkton of Logie Buchan: either fits.
Put simply: spillage round the filler leaves the motor no harm. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in the tank, turning on the car would suck it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Assume it got in, and don't turn the engine. Phone and give the details: we'd sooner confirm a clean tank than empty one after your engine has been run.
What every AdBlue drain in Ellon has in common
The job opens identically, whichever the case. Three questions come when our technicians arrive — on a filling station, a driveway, a road beside Phil Anderson Financial Services or the car park at The Bridge Bar: the fluid, the amount, and if it has been started. On the phone, before dispatch, you are told our price, and those answers decide the job too.
Then that tank is emptied and the fuel system flushed 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 are the filter, cleaned or replaced as needed; clean diesel; and a check of the car. If the engine has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Finally, our technicians start the car. Our engineers make sure it runs correctly on fresh diesel before we leave. The entire job is done where your car is, and if it's noticed quickly, lasting damage is very rare. Paying comes that day, never in advance. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Dig out your insurance before we arrive: misfuelling cover comes built into many policies.
About Ellon
Ellon is a town situated on the River Ythan in Aberdeenshire, with a population of around 8853 people. Ellon has a mix of housing types, but detached homes are predominant, and the town is located near several smaller communities, including Craighall and Meiklemill. Ellon sits at an elevation of 13 metres, close to the coast and approximately 14.8 miles north of Aberdeen. Ellon is also relatively distant from major English cities, being around 412 miles from London.
Ellon and Aberdeenshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Ellon is a riverside town, and the same teams that cover it work the places around it too, Meiklemill and Esslemont among them, across the AB postcode area. A postcode starting AB41 9 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Centre of Ellon or a lay-by towards Ellon Castle Gardens: wherever it sits, the vehicle doesn't need to shift at all for us. Draining is done right there. If you are somewhere hard to describe, near River Ythan Viewpoint or close to a border, ring and ask instead of assuming.
Your situation, in one line
Still unrun? Keep the vehicle that way and phone. Run already? Pull over, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whichever case, in Ellon and Aberdeenshire, on 0333 366 0103.