AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Eskbank, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the engine has run since it was put in. Over in Lasswade or here around Eskbank, an unstarted engine should stay unrun. Ring 0333 366 0103 with the key and engine still off. Across Eskbank, such a case is typically emptied and cleaned on the spot. When your engine has been run, stop safely first, then turn the car off. Step one stays the same, even if the work grows.
Compare your case to a situation from the list below, anywhere in Midlothian you happen to be.
At the petrol pump in Eskbank: AdBlue in a diesel
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. Anywhere in Eskbank, then — the nearest petrol station, Tesco, or anywhere else close by.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is the best it gets. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Do this: keep out of the driver's seat, however much the pump wants clearing. Ask the attendants to help you roll your car into a parking space, keep the receipt or the bottle, and call us from the forecourt. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, and so a vehicle that can't be pushed clear gets drained where it is at the petrol pump.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Eskbank
For days the dashboard had been warning you. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look a second time at the cap. Right off Ancrum Road is not different from anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. At the bottom of your tank is where AdBlue stays, because it won't mix with diesel — and a night going by changes nothing of the difference.
Next: stop any early-morning drive by putting the keys in the house, then phone us. Dalkeith or Eskbank: whichever your driveway sits, that's where it is emptied. The pumping kit runs quietly enough that it won't wake the street at night.
Eskbank: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Somewhere along Strawberry Bank or on the road towards Edinburgh — under 10 miles away.
The upshot: the system has drawn AdBlue through already. Past your filter, through the pipework, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the injection pump and every injector. Each restart, like each mile, pushes it on.
Next: pick a sensible place, stop, and turn your motor off. Eskbank sits under 10 miles from the M8; on it, come off at the first junction rather than pressing on for the services. No trial starts: clearing isn't something AdBlue does. Roughly what distance had it gone? Tell us as you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've only had this car a week. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel one, which you didn't know, because your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Any driver, anywhere across Midlothian, could make it.
The point: just as above, split by if it ran, but with one added step. The owner frequently has to approve any work, under plenty of hire and company contracts.
Settling it before the van turn up is faster, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. Stranded by Three Craws or at the nearest station till someone replies, your vehicle remains switched off throughout.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Eskbank
Sometimes the fair answer is "I think so". What cap came off, you can't say; meanwhile the bottle feels lighter than it ought to, and ammonia lingers by the filler. A rushed top-up by the gates of the local primary school, or a call to a friend in Eldindean: both fits.
Meaning? Drips around the filler don't touch the motor at all. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in your tank would be sucked in by firing up your car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Next: act as though it got in, then keep your engine off. Checking a tank that proves clean beats draining one after it's been run — so ring and tell us what you saw.
Each AdBlue drain around Eskbank shares these stages
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Our engineers come to the car, whether it is at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at Justinlees Inn or a side street close to Unicorn, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and if your engine has run. Those replies decide this work, and you get the price by phone, before anyone heads out.
Emptying the tank comes first, followed by a careful flush — more vital after urea than with petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not clear on their own, no matter how long you wait. Last are the filter, cleaned or replaced if necessary; fresh diesel; and a test of your car. The majority of unstarted cars are a half-hour visit after the moment our engineers arrive.
Starting the engine comes at the end. Before our technicians go, it is tested to make sure it runs properly on fresh diesel. When it's spotted soon, the car very seldom has long-term damage, and the whole job happens where it is. Payment is that day, never in advance. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Eskbank
Eskbank is a suburban area situated on the riverside in Midlothian, with a mix of housing types but predominantly detached homes. Eskbank lies close to the city of Edinburgh, approximately 6 miles from the centre, and is near other local places such as Dalkeith and Newbattle. Eskbank has a population of around 3129 people and is set at an elevation of 69 metres. Eskbank is part of the wider Edinburgh urban area, yet retains its own distinct character.
AdBlue drains around Eskbank and across Midlothian
As a residential suburb, Eskbank shares its vans with the nearby towns — Lugton, Newbattle — all the way through EH postcodes. Quickest of all: a EH22 3 postcode to show where you stand.
Centre of Eskbank or a layby near Ironmills Park: either way it is, your vehicle never needs to move at all for the drain. We drain the car where it is. Ring and ask instead of guessing when you're by St David's, near a border, or somewhere awkward to explain.
The one-line version
Engine not started: phone, leaving it alone. Run already? Pull over, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whatever case, in Eskbank and Midlothian, on 0333 366 0103.