Grafham: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether the motor has run since it went in. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is around Grafham itself or out in West Perry. Normally this means draining and properly purging it on the spot in Grafham — so leave your ignition and engine off then ring 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. A bigger job, yes, yet the same first step.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever around Cambridgeshire it happened.
Grafham forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Imagine it: standing by the pump, holding the nozzle, you spot the filler you opened was not the right one. It could be the Shell, or the BP, or another forecourt around Grafham.
Put simply: no better place exists to spot it. Nothing has drawn it through, and so the AdBlue stays only inside that tank.
Next: resist the temptation to fire it up just to free up the petrol pump. Ask the attendants to help you roll the vehicle into a parking bay, keep the till receipt or the bottle, then call us from the forecourt. Stuck by the pump? Explosion-proof kit makes a busy forecourt sensible, so we can drain the car where it is.
At home around Grafham with AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. A bottle bought at the shop, emptied in on the driveway — and it's just by the bin that the cap got your eye. Just off The Wyvern is not less likely from any other place.
The point: zero driving since leaves this nearly as good to finding it at the petrol pump. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that 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. Your drive is where it is emptied, be it in Grafham or Ellington Thorpe. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Grafham?
Topped up, drove away, and before long the motor was turning unevenly, blowing smoke, losing power, or flashing up your dash. It might have been driving to Peterborough, under 25 miles away, or simply down Breach Road.
The upshot: your system has drawn AdBlue in by now. The high-pressure pump and every injector see it too on a longer run, once your filter and lines have it. Every restart, like every mile, pushes it on.
What to do: pull over where it is safe and switch off. Exit by the next junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the A1(M), under 5 miles from Grafham. It will not have cleared, and so there's no sense restarting to check. Phone us and say how far you went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
It's a vehicle you have had for a week. Your own vehicle either does without AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, and so no one told you the AdBlue cap was just beside the diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Cambridgeshire.
Put simply: one extra step on top of the situations above, and those turn on whether it has run. Work on the vehicle often needs the owner's approval under rental or fleet terms.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager first, us second, since sorting it early saves time. Hanging on for a reply at the car park at Huntingdon, or near All Saints (Grafham Parish Church)? Keep the engine off meanwhile.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Grafham?
Occasionally the fair answer is "I think so". Lighter, that bottle; a trace of ammonia near the filler; no clear recollection of the cap. Sound familiar? The gates of Buckden CofE Primary School in a rush, perhaps, or someone's drive out in Easton.
The point: the motor isn't harmed by some AdBlue splashed around the filler. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different story. Any AdBlue in the tank would be pulled in by starting the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Your move: behave as if it got in, and don't start the engine. Call us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
Grafham: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Each situation gets the same start to the job. Three things are asked when we arrive — on a forecourt, a drive, a road by a street just off the centre or the car park at The Grafham Trout: the fluid, the amount, and if it has run. On the phone, before anything else, you hear the quote, and those answers shape the job too.
Emptying that tank comes next, followed by a full flush — more important after urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not clear by themselves, no matter how long you wait. Last are the fuel filter, cleaned or renewed if necessary; clean diesel; and a test of your car. Where the engine has not run, allow about half an hour on site, in most jobs.
The final step is firing it up. Before our engineers go, it is checked to be sure it runs smoothly on clean diesel. Our engineers do the whole job where your car is, and lasting damage is very unusual if it has been noticed soon. Paying comes that day, never upfront. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. It is worth remembering: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a check of your documents while we travel is worthwhile.
About Grafham and where it is
Grafham is a small village in Cambridgeshire, situated on the shores of Grafham Water, a large lake in the eastern part of the county. Grafham sits at an elevation of around 55 metres, with its detached houses and quiet surroundings making it a peaceful residential community. Grafham is located near other villages such as Ellington Thorpe and East Perry, and is within commuting distance of Peterborough. Grafham has a population of approximately 598 people, with easy access to the nearby city and the wider region.
AdBlue drains around Grafham and across Cambridgeshire
Grafham is a village, and the same vans that cover it work the towns near it too, Ellington and East Perry among them, across the PE postcode area. Fastest of all: a PE28 0 postcode to show your location.
No towing is needed, whether stopped centrally in Grafham or on a lay-by heading to Meadowground, and so leave it where it is. Where it sits, that's where it gets cleared. Guessing won't help beside Grafham Village Hall, close to a county line or anywhere awkward to describe; ring and check.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off and call. Run already? Pull over, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whichever it is, in Grafham and Cambridgeshire, on 0333 366 0103.