AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Forrabury, and What to Do Next
Everything hinges on one fact: whether your engine has started after the AdBlue was added — far more than anything else. Wherever your car stands — Treworld, Forrabury — don't start an engine that has not been started yet. Usually this is draining and thoroughly purging it right there in Forrabury — and so leave the key and engine off and phone 0333 366 0103. Pull over the moment you safely can and turn off, if it has already run. A larger job, then, yet the identical opening step.
Wherever across Cornwall it happened, one of the cases below matches yours.
Forrabury forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Just now, bottle yet in your hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the pump. Whether Gulf, Valley Truckle Filling Station or somewhere else in Forrabury, the situation is the same.
Meaning? Spotting it on the forecourt is as good as it gets. No pump has drawn it through, so the AdBlue sits just inside that tank.
Next: resist the temptation to start it only to free up the pump. Ask the attendants to help you push the car into a parking space, keep the receipt or the bottle, then phone us from the forecourt. If it cannot be moved, it can be drained at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt.
Forrabury, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On your dash, a reminder had shown for days. A bottle bought at the shop, tipped in at the drive — and it's just by the bin that the cap got your eye. Just off Tintagel Road is not different from anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. On the bottom of that tank is exactly where AdBlue waits, because it won't blend with diesel — and a night passing makes no difference.
Keep the keys indoors overnight — otherwise a person might drive it off at breakfast — and call us. Our engineers drain it on your driveway, whether that is in Forrabury or out in Boscastle. Late-night empties beside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel in Forrabury?
A short way beyond topping up, your motor started misbehaving: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on the dash. Green Lane, say, or the route towards Plymouth — a trip of under 50 miles.
Meaning? The fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue up. The high-pressure pump and every injector see it as well on a bigger run, after your filter and lines have it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
What to do: pull over where it is safe then switch off. Forrabury sits over 50 miles from the M5; there, pull off at the next junction instead of pushing on to the services. Do not restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Let us hear the mileage covered when you ring.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have had this vehicle barely a week. The AdBlue filler sits right beside the diesel one, which you did not know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Across Cornwall, nobody is safe from it.
The upshot: just as above, divided by if it ran, only with one added step. Plenty of hire and company contracts require the owner's sign-off before work.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's faster settled before our engineers arrive than after. Stranded by St Symphorian or outside the nearest station until someone answers, your car remains switched off the whole time.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Forrabury
At times the honest answer is "I think so". Lighter, the bottle; a hint of ammonia near the filler; a hazy recollection of which cap. Sound familiar? The gates of Boscastle Community Primary School in a hurry, say, or someone's driveway over in Trethevey.
The point: your motor is not hurt by some AdBlue splashed around the outside. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another story. If there is AdBlue in the tank, firing up the car would suck it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Your move: behave as though it did, and don't start your motor. Checking a tank that turns out clean beats draining one once it's been run — so ring and tell us what you saw.
The common ground in every Forrabury AdBlue drain
Each situation has the same opening to the work. We come to your car, whether it is at a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside Wellington Hotel or a side street close to Boscastle Methodist Church, and ask three things: what was put in, about how much, and if the engine has run. Your price comes over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and those replies shape the job.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it is crucial, since crystals build up and certain metals corrode, and neither rinses out unaided. Your filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. If the engine hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Starting the engine comes at the end. Our check that it runs properly on new diesel comes before we head off. Lasting damage is very uncommon if it is noticed early, and the entire job is done where the vehicle is. Payment is that day, never in advance. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Check your insurance before we arrive: misfuelling cover is included in many policies.
About Forrabury, for a moment
Forrabury is a small coastal locality in Cornwall, situated near the popular tourist destination of Boscastle. Forrabury sits at an elevation of 108 metres, overlooking the north Cornwall coast and surrounded by picturesque countryside. Forrabury is characterised by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its appeal as a residential area. Forrabury is located approximately 32 miles from Plymouth, making it a relatively remote but accessible community.
AdBlue drains around Forrabury, and across Cornwall too
Forrabury is a coastal area, and the same teams that cover it work the places near it too, Welltown and Trevalga among them, across the PL postcode area. A postcode starting PL35 0 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Centre of Forrabury or a layby towards Helsett Wood: wherever it sits, the car never needs to move an inch for us. Our engineers drain the car where it is. Assuming doesn't help near Bottereaux Castle Site, on a county line or anywhere awkward to describe; ring and ask.
Your situation, in one line
Engine never started: phone, and leave it switched off. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Forrabury and anywhere in Cornwall on 0333 366 0103.