AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in London Colney: What Now?
One fact matters most once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is whether the engine has been started afterwards. Not started so far? Then keep it like that, wherever the vehicle sits — London Colney or Napsbury. Call 0333 366 0103 with the ignition and motor both off. In London Colney, such a case is typically drained and cleaned where it stands. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. A larger job, then, yet the same first step.
Anywhere in Hertfordshire it took place, one of the cases below matches yours.
London Colney forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only spot it while you're standing at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. Anywhere around London Colney, then — Sainsbury's, Shell, or somewhere else close by.
The upshot: of all places to find out, the forecourt is the best. No pump has pulled it in, so the AdBlue sits only in your tank.
Clearing the pump is no reason to run it — so do not get back in. Phone us from the forecourt once your car is in a bay — the staff will help roll it — and keep the receipt. Stuck by the pump? Our explosion-proof equipment keeps a busy forecourt sensible, so we can drain it where it is.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a London Colney drive?
Days had gone by with the dash light on. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in hand, did you look back at the cap you had opened on the driveway. It occurs on drives just off White Horse Lane as often as anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. At the bottom of the tank sits where AdBlue waits, since it will not blend with diesel — and a night going by changes no difference.
Next: prevent an early drive by keeping your keys indoors, then phone us. Out in Napsbury Park or right here around London Colney, the draining happens on your drive. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
London Colney: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A mile or two beyond topping up, the engine started misbehaving: roughness, smoke, less power, lights on the dash. It might have been driving for St Albans, under 3 miles away, or just down High Street.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked into the fuel system. The injection pump and every injector see it too on a longer run, after your filter and lines have it. Each restart, like each mile, pushes it deeper.
What to do: pull over where it is safe to do so and switch off. Leave by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M25, under a mile from London Colney. Don't restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Let us hear the distance driven 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 is right beside the diesel filler, which you didn't know, because your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anyone, wherever around Hertfordshire, might make it.
In short: an extra step on top of the situations above, and those depend on whether it's run. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the car.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before we get there than after. Hanging on for a reply at the car park outside Park Street, or near Our Lady, St Mary of Walsingham? Keep the car off meanwhile.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank around London Colney?
"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. A hurried stop by the gates of London Colney Primary & Nursery School, or a visit to a friend in Shenleybury: both fit.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no damage to your engine. Inside the diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. Turning on the vehicle will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it would draw it in.
Do this: behave as though it got in, and never start your engine. Ring and give what you saw: we'd sooner confirm a clean tank than drain one once the motor has been run.
What each AdBlue drain around London Colney has in common
Every case has the same opening to the work. Wherever the car is — The Green Dragon's car park, a road by London Colney Community Library, a drive, a forecourt — the van arrives and asks for the liquid, the amount, and whether your engine has turned over. Over the phone, before dispatch, you are told our quote, and those answers decide the work too.
Then the tank is drained and the fuel 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. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. If the motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Our technicians fire it up last. Our test that it runs smoothly on clean diesel comes before our engineers go. The entire job is done where the vehicle is, and when it's noticed quickly, permanent damage is very rare. Nothing is taken upfront, payment is made on the day, and you get what the insurer asks for: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Check your insurance while we're en route: cover for misfuelling is built into plenty of policies.
About London Colney, briefly
London Colney is a village in Hertfordshire, situated on the banks of the River Colne at an elevation of around 73 metres. London Colney lies close to the city of St Albans, with nearby places including Napsbury Park, Broad Colney, and Tyttenhanger. London Colney has a population of approximately 3504 people, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type in the area. London Colney is also within commuting distance of London, being around 16.6 miles from the capital.
AdBlue drains around London Colney and across Hertfordshire
Being a village, London Colney shares its vans with the surrounding places — Tyttenhanger, Broad Colney — all the way across AL postcodes. A postcode starting AL2 1 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Stopped heading to Coppice Wood, or bang in the heart of London Colney, the vehicle stays put — there is no need to shift it anywhere. The drain happens right there. Guessing doesn't help beside London Colney Community Centre, on a border or somewhere awkward to describe; ring and ask.
Your situation, summed up
If it has not run, ring then keep it off. Whichever case applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Hertfordshire and in London Colney — after you pull over, turn off then phone, if it's run.