What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Magherafelt
One fact counts above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is whether the engine has been started since. Not run yet? Then keep it that way, wherever the car is — Magherafelt or Loup. Normally that is draining and properly cleaning it on the spot in Magherafelt — and so leave your ignition and motor off then call 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, yet the first step is the same.
Wherever across County Londonderry it happened, one of the situations below fits yours.
Magherafelt forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You are at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Maybe you are at the the nearest petrol station, perhaps at the another forecourt nearby, possibly somewhere else around Magherafelt.
Meaning? Spotting it on the forecourt is the best it gets. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
Your move: stay out of the driver's seat, even if the queue wants freeing. Three jobs: a shove into a space with the attendants assisting, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from the forecourt. Stuck by the pump? Explosion-proof equipment makes a live forecourt sensible, so we can drain it in place.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Magherafelt
The warning light had been on for days. A bottle from the shop, tipped in at the drive — and it's only at the bin that the cap got your eye. Just off B842 is not less likely from anywhere.
In short: if the car has not moved since, it's nearly as good as spotting it at the forecourt. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: the keys indoors, so no one drives the car anywhere at breakfast. After that, ring. In Castledawson or here around Magherafelt, the draining happens on your driveway. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road in Magherafelt with AdBlue in a diesel
Filled up, drove away, and soon your engine was turning roughly, smoking, losing power, or flashing up your dash. Maybe heading for Armagh, under 50 miles away, or simply along Dunaverty Court.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled through your fuel system. Past the fuel filter, through the lines, and — the more the mileage — on into the injection pump and every injector. More miles, more restarts: further it goes.
Do this: stop somewhere safe, then turn the motor off. Magherafelt lies over 50 miles from the M77; there, come off at the first junction instead of pushing on for the services. No test restarts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue does. Phone, saying how far the vehicle went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have had the car barely a week. The AdBlue filler sits right alongside the diesel filler, which you did not know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Across County Londonderry, no one is safe from it.
Put simply: an extra step on top of the situations above, and those turn on if it's run. The owner frequently needs to sign off the work, under plenty of rental and fleet agreements.
Next: phone the rental company or the fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is quicker. Waiting for a reply at the car park at the nearest station, or near the centre? Keep the car off meanwhile.
Magherafelt: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
At times the honest answer is "I think so". The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia around your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. The gates of the local primary school in a hurry, say, or someone's drive out in Ballymaguigan.
In short: spillage near your filler does the motor no harm. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in that tank, turning on your car would suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Do this: behave as if it did, and don't start your motor. Inspecting a tank that turns out clean is better than emptying one after it has been run — so ring and tell us what you saw.
Every AdBlue drain around Magherafelt shares these steps
Each situation has the same start to the work. Three things come once our technicians reach your car — at a filling station, a driveway, a road beside a street just off the centre or the car park outside the pub in the village: the fluid, the quantity, and if it has run. Your price is given on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and the answers shape the job.
Then the tank is drained and the fuel system purged 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 fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Never started? In that case roughly half an hour on site covers most jobs.
We start the car at the end. We confirm it runs properly on clean diesel before we leave. Our technicians do the whole job where the car is, and long-term damage is very unusual if it has been spotted quickly. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. It is worth remembering: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your documents while you wait is worthwhile.
About Magherafelt, briefly
Magherafelt is a town in County Londonderry, situated in an inland area of Northern Ireland at an elevation of 71 metres. Magherafelt lies approximately 27 miles from Armagh and is close to nearby settlements such as Castledawson, Desertmartin, and Curran. Magherafelt has a population of around 9072 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Magherafelt is located about 349 miles northwest of London, making it a significant urban centre in the region.
AdBlue drains across County Londonderry, Magherafelt included
Desertmartin and Curran get the same vans as Magherafelt, a town, plus other places throughout BT postcodes. Your location is quickest from a postcode beginning BT45 6.
Whether your car is on a lay-by on the way to the green space at the edge of the village or in a car park in the middle of Magherafelt, it doesn't need to shift. Draining is done right there. If you're somewhere hard to describe, close to the far end of the built-up part or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than assuming.
Your situation, in one line
Unstarted? Keep the vehicle off and phone. Run already: stop, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, in Magherafelt or anywhere in County Londonderry.