AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Kenwyn: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether your engine has run since it was put in. Wherever your car is — Shortlanesend, Kenwyn — never start an engine that hasn't been started yet. Switch nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, then expect a thorough flush after a drain, done right where the vehicle stands in Kenwyn. Pull over the moment you safely can and switch off, if it has been run. It's a larger job, yet step one does not change.
Anywhere around Cornwall it took place, one of the cases below fits yours.
On a Kenwyn forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Only at this point, bottle still in hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, there at the pump. It might be the Sainsbury's, or perhaps the Shell, or another station around Kenwyn.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. No pump has drawn it through, so the AdBlue stays only in the tank.
Freeing the pump is no excuse to run it — and so do not get back in. Get the attendants to lend a hand pushing it into a bay, hold on to the receipt, then ring us right there. Draining it there at the pump is possible when it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Kenwyn
For days the dashboard had been warning you. Picked up a bottle, poured it in at home, binned the empty — and at that point checked the cap again, after the fact. It happens on driveways just off Kenwyn Close as frequently as anywhere.
Meaning? Provided your vehicle hasn't moved since, it's second to the pump case. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: stop an early move by keeping the keys indoors, then ring us. In Truro or here around Kenwyn, the drain happens on your driveway. Our pumping kit runs quietly enough not to disturb the street at night.
On the road in Kenwyn with AdBlue in a diesel
Lumpy running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard arrived a short way after the top-up. Knights Hill, perhaps, or the route towards Truro — a run of under a mile.
The upshot: your system has drawn AdBlue in by now. Distance decides how far it goes: filter and pipework first, then the high-pressure pump and every injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: pick a sensible spot, pull in, and switch the engine off. On the M5, over 50 miles from Kenwyn, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Starting it again to test gets nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. Phone, and say what distance the car was driven.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
A week ago, it was unknown to you. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers are side by side here — unlike your own car, which has no AdBlue or stores it elsewhere. Anyone, wherever in Cornwall, might do it.
Meaning? Whatever case above counts here — run or not — and one further step. The owner often needs to approve the work, under plenty of hire and company contracts.
Next: ring the rental company or the fleet manager first, then us — settling it before we arrive is faster. Stranded near Kenwyn Church or at Truro until someone replies, your car stays switched off the whole time.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Kenwyn
"I think so" is often the most honest answer there is. Too light, the bottle; a trace of ammonia near the filler; no clear recollection of the cap. Look familiar? Maybe on a friend's drive in Treliske, or rushing by St Mary's CofE School, Truro at the school run.
What it means: a little spilled about the filler does no damage to your motor. A diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different story. Any AdBlue in the tank will be sucked in by firing up the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Don't crank it. Ring with the details: we would rather confirm a tank free of AdBlue than empty one once the engine has been run.
The common ground in each Kenwyn AdBlue drain
Each case has the same start to the job. Wherever your car stands — The Railway Tavern's car park, a street beside St Mary's Chapel, a drive, a filling station — our van gets there and asks for the liquid, the quantity, plus whether the engine has been run. Replies shape the job; the price comes on the call whilst no one has left yet.
Then that tank is drained and your system cleaned thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it does not rinse out on its own. Finally are the filter, cleaned or replaced as needed; clean diesel; and a check of your vehicle. Never started? In that case roughly half an hour on site is most jobs.
Starting the engine comes at the end. Our test that it runs smoothly on fresh diesel comes before our technicians leave. We do the entire job where the vehicle is, and permanent damage is very uncommon if it has been noticed quickly. Nothing is paid upfront, settlement happens on the day, and you get what the insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Dig out your insurance before we're en route: misfuelling cover comes included in many policies.
About Kenwyn
Kenwyn is a suburban area situated on the outskirts of Truro in Cornwall, with a riverside setting and an elevation of around 75 metres. Kenwyn lies close to the city centre, approximately 0.8 miles from Truro, and is surrounded by nearby places such as Highertown and Idless. Kenwyn has a population of around 2303 people and is characterised by predominantly detached housing.
Kenwyn and Cornwall: AdBlue drains across the area
Highertown and Idless have the identical vans as Kenwyn, a residential suburb, plus further towns over TR postcodes. The location comes quickest from a postcode that starts TR1 3.
Stopped en route to Hendra Park, or bang in the heart of Kenwyn, the car stays where it is — there is no need to move it at all. We drain it where it stands. Awkward to pin down? Close to Truro Combined Court or a county line? Checking is better than assuming, so ring.
Your scenario, summed up
Not run yet: keep the car off and ring. Already run: stop, switch off and call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Kenwyn and anywhere across Cornwall on 0333 366 0103.