AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Ham, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if the engine has been run since it got in. Over in Lodbourne or right around Ham, an unrun engine must stay unrun. Ring 0333 366 0103 with the key and motor still off. In Ham, that is generally emptied and flushed where it stands. Pull over the minute you safely can and turn off, if it has been run. It's a bigger job, yet stage one does not change.
Further down: the cases our engineers meet, anywhere around Dorset. Choose yours.
On a Ham forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Only at this point, nozzle still in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you opened was the wrong one, there at the petrol pump. Maybe you're at the Shell, possibly at the Esso, perhaps somewhere else in Ham.
What it means: this is the best spot to find out. Still in that tank, and no fuel pulled onwards: that's where the AdBlue is.
Next: resist the urge to start it just to move away from the pump. Three jobs: a shove into a space with the attendants assisting, the receipt kept, and a call to us from where you stand. If it cannot be shifted, it can be drained at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Ham drive?
On the dash, a warning had shown for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in your hand, did you look back at the cap you'd used on the driveway. Drives close to Shaftesbury Road see it as much as anywhere.
The upshot: no driving since leaves this almost as good to finding it at the petrol pump. Being reluctant to mix, AdBlue settles low in the tank and stays. A night standing changes nothing.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the car in the morning. Then call. Your drive is where it is emptied, whether around Ham or Ham Common. Night-time drains beside a house are fine: the pumps are quiet.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Ham?
Topped up, pulled away, and soon your engine was running roughly, smoking, losing power, or lighting up the dash. B3081, perhaps, or the way towards Salisbury — a run of under 25 miles.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked through the fuel system. The high-pressure pump and each injector get it too on a longer run, after your filter and pipework have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: find a safe spot, stop, and switch your motor off. On the M27, under 50 miles from Ham, that means the next exit, not the services further on. No test starts: clearing is not something AdBlue does. Roughly what distance did it gone? Say so when you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
A week back, it was new to you. Your own car either does without AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, and so no one warned you the AdBlue cap sits just next to your diesel. Any driver, anywhere in Dorset, could make it.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Work on the vehicle frequently needs the owner's go-ahead under hire or company terms.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before our engineers get there than after. Waiting for a reply in the car park outside Gillingham (Dorset), or beside Kings Court Palace? Keep the engine off meanwhile.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around Ham?
"I think so" is often as honest as it gets. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia round your filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. It might have been at a friend's driveway in Cold Harbour, or in a rush outside St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School at the school run.
The upshot: the engine is not hurt by some AdBlue spilled around the outside. Once it's inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would suck in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Next: act as though it got in, then leave the engine off. Inspecting a tank that proves clean beats draining one after it's been run — so ring and tell us what you saw.
Ham: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Anywhere the vehicle is — the pub in the village's car park, a road beside Gillingham Baptist Church, a drive, a forecourt — our van arrives and asks about the liquid, the quantity, and if the motor has been run. Replies shape the job; the quote comes by phone whilst nobody has left yet.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at some metals in fuel systems, so it won't wash out unaided; that is why a full flush, after the drain, counts far more with AdBlue than with petrol. Last are your filter, flushed or renewed if necessary; fresh diesel; and a check of the vehicle. Never started? Then roughly half an hour on site is most jobs.
We fire it up last. With fresh diesel in, it runs while our engineers confirm it's running smoothly, and then we head off. Our technicians do the whole job where the car is, and lasting damage is very unusual when it has been noticed quickly. Paying is on the day, never upfront. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. It is worth knowing: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy as we travel is worthwhile.
About Ham, briefly
Ham is a suburban area in Dorset, situated on the riverside with an elevation of 71 metres, and is located near Ham Common and other local places like Madjeston and Gillingham. Ham has a population of around 1706 people and features predominantly semi-detached housing. Ham is positioned approximately 20 miles from Salisbury and about 98 miles from London, making it a relatively rural suburb in the South West region. Ham sits in a scenic area with nearby natural spaces.
Ham and Dorset: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout SP postcodes, the vans serving Ham — a residential suburb — work surrounding towns too, Madjeston and Gillingham among them. The location comes quickest from a postcode beginning SP8 4.
No moving is needed, whether parked in the centre of Ham or on a lay-by en route to Ham Farm, so leave it put. The drain happens right there. Guessing won't help near Riversmeet Leisure Centre, close to a county line or anywhere hard to pin down; phone and ask.
Your scenario, summed up
Where it hasn't run, phone and keep it off. Whichever case fits, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, throughout Dorset and in Ham — once you stop, switch off then ring, if it's run.