AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hitchin: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if your motor has run since it was put in. Wherever your vehicle stands — Westmill, Hitchin — don't run a motor that hasn't been started yet. Leave your engine and the ignition off then phone 0333 366 0103; it is normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Hitchin. Already started? Pull over when safe, then switch everything off. It is a bigger job, yet step one does not change.
Below: the cases our technicians see, anywhere in Hertfordshire. Choose the one that fits.
At the pump around Hitchin: AdBlue in a diesel
Only now, nozzle still in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you opened was the wrong one, there at the pump. Somewhere in Hitchin, then — Shell, Esso, or anywhere else close by.
Meaning? Spotting it on the forecourt is the best it can be. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
What to do: don't get back in and start the vehicle to clear the petrol pump. Ask the attendants to help you push the vehicle into a parking bay, keep the receipt or the bottle, then phone us from the forecourt. Emptying it there at the pump is fine if it cannot be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
Hitchin, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
On your dash, a reminder had shown all week. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. It happens on driveways just off Brand Street as frequently as anywhere.
Put simply: if your vehicle hasn't been driven since, it is almost equal to finding out at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue settles to the floor of your tank and remains put, however long it waits.
Next: prevent an early drive by keeping your keys indoors, then ring us. Out in Hitchin Hill or right here around Hitchin, the drain is done on your driveway. Night-time clears beside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Hitchin?
Topped up, pulled away, and soon your engine was turning roughly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up the dash. Maybe driving for St Albans, under 15 miles away, or just down Grammar School Walk.
The upshot: the system has drawn AdBlue in by now. Mileage sets how deep it gets: filter and lines first, then the high-pressure pump and each injector. It goes deeper with each extra mile driven and each restart.
Your move: stop anywhere safe, then turn your motor off. On the A1(M), under 3 miles from Hitchin, that means the next junction, not the services further on. No test starts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue does. Ring us and say how far you drove.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It's a car you have had for a week. Your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, so nothing warned you the AdBlue inlet sits just beside your diesel. Anywhere you happen to be around Hertfordshire, any driver can slip up.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it has run, with one more stage. The owner frequently needs to approve the work, under many hire and company contracts.
Settling it before we turn up is quicker, and so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, then us. If you're stranded in the car park at the nearest station, or by Peace Pole, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Hitchin
Now and then, "I think so" is all anyone can truthfully say. Which cap was taken off, you cannot say; but the bottle feels less than expected, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by your filler. The gates of Samuel Lucas Junior Mixed and Infant School in a rush, perhaps, or a friend's driveway out in Walsworth.
What it means: a little spilled round your filler does no harm to your motor. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another story. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would suck in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Assume it went in, and never turn the key. Ring us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Hitchin: what each AdBlue drain has in common
No matter the situation, one start applies. Wherever the vehicle is — Pitcher & Piano's car park, a road beside Friends Meeting House, a driveway, a filling station — our van gets there and we ask for the liquid, the amount, and whether your engine has turned over. Those answers determine the work, and you get our quote on the phone, before anybody sets off.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it is essential, since deposits form and some metals are attacked, and neither rinses out unaided. Fresh diesel is put in once the fuel filter is cleaned or replaced, and your car is then checked. Where the engine has not been started, allow about half an hour once we arrive, in most cases.
Starting it comes last. Before our technicians go, it's tested to be sure it runs smoothly on fresh diesel. We do the entire job where the car is, and long-term damage is very uncommon if it has been noticed quickly. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Hitchin and where it is
Hitchin is a town in Hertfordshire, situated on the River Hiz at an elevation of 73 metres, with Hitchin Hill nearby. Hitchin has a mix of housing types, but flat accommodation is predominant, and its riverside setting has influenced its development. Hitchin is located near several smaller communities, including Sunnyside and Charlton, and is within commuting distance of London, approximately 31 miles away. Hitchin is also close to the city of St Albans, which is about 14 miles away.
AdBlue drains round Hitchin and across Hertfordshire
Hitchin is a riverside town, and the same teams that cover it work the places around it too, Sunnyside and Charlton among them, across the SG postcode area. Your whereabouts comes quickest from a postcode beginning SG5 1.
No towing is needed, be it stopped centrally in Hitchin or on a layby heading to William Ransom Physic Garden, and so keep it put. Draining happens on the spot. If you are somewhere hard to explain, near Hitchin Town Hall or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of guessing.
Your scenario, summed up
Not run yet: keep the car off then ring. Whichever case applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Hertfordshire and within Hitchin — once you pull over, switch off and phone, if it has run.