Pen-y-fai: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether your engine has run since it went in. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether your car is in Pen-y-fai itself or out in Wild Mill. Normally that is draining and properly flushing it on the spot around Pen-y-fai — and so leave your key and engine off then phone 0333 366 0103. Stop the minute it is safe then turn off, if it has been run. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Below: the situations our engineers meet, anywhere in Bridgend. Pick yours.
Pen-y-fai forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Imagine it: standing by the petrol pump, gripping the bottle, you spot the filler you took off wasn't the correct one. It could be the Murco, or the Welcome Break, or a different station in Pen-y-fai.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. Still inside the tank, and no fuel pulled through: that is where the AdBlue is.
What to do: do not get back in and fire it up to clear the petrol pump. Have the staff to lend a hand rolling it into a bay, hold on to the bottle, then phone us right there. Draining it there at the petrol pump is fine if it can't be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Pen-y-fai drive?
For days the dash had been nagging you. 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. Houses just off Glenview get hit as much as everywhere else.
The point: no miles since makes this almost as good to spotting it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the floor of that tank and remains there, no matter how long it waits.
Next: keys in the house, so nobody drives your vehicle anywhere first thing. After that, phone. Tyn-y-garn or Pen-y-fai: wherever your drive is, that is where it is drained. Late-night clears beside a house are fine: the pumps are quiet.
Pen-y-fai: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A short way after topping up, the engine began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on the dash. Maybe heading for Swansea, under 25 miles away, or just along Y Llest.
Meaning? The fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and each injector see it as well on a longer trip, after the filter and lines have it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Pull in somewhere safe — that's the first step — then switch everything off. On the M4, under a mile from Pen-y-fai, that means the next exit, not the services further on. Restarting it to test gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Roughly how far did it go? Tell us as you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've just had the car for days. The AdBlue filler sits right alongside the diesel filler, which you did not know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Bridgend.
The upshot: exactly as above, divided by if it ran, but with an added stage. The owner frequently needs to approve any work, under plenty of hire and company contracts.
Do this: rental firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us second, since settling it early saves time. Leave it switched off as the answer arrives, whether you are parked outside Wildmill or near M&S Outlet.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Pen-y-fai
Sometimes the honest answer is "I think so". What cap was taken off, you cannot recall; meanwhile the bottle weighs less than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by your filler. Maybe on a friend's driveway in Aberkenfig, or rushing by the local primary school at the school run.
Meaning? Spills around the filler don't reach the engine at all. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Firing up your car cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in that tank it will draw it in.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Do not fire it up. Checking a tank that proves clean is better than emptying one once it has been run — so ring then tell us what you saw.
The common ground in each Pen-y-fai AdBlue drain
The work opens the same way, whichever the case. Forecourt, driveway, The Pheasant's car park or a street by St John's Church — our van reaches your vehicle, and three answers come next: what fluid, what quantity, and whether it ran. The price comes over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and the replies set the job.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it is essential, since deposits form and some metals corrode, and neither rinses away unaided. Your filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. If your engine has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Last, we start the engine. With new diesel in, it runs while our engineers check it is running properly, and then we leave. The whole job is done where the car is, and if it's noticed early, lasting damage is very rare. Payment is on the day, never in advance. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Pen-y-fai and where it is
Pen-y-fai is a village in Bridgend, situated inland at an elevation of 68 metres, with detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Pen-y-fai lies near several smaller communities, including Tyn-y-garn and Court Colman, and is within a short distance of the larger urban area of Swansea. Pen-y-fai is home to a population of approximately 1564 residents, who live in a rural setting not far from the Welsh coastline. Pen-y-fai remains a relatively small and quiet village, surrounded by the Welsh countryside.
AdBlue drains across Bridgend, Pen-y-fai included
Court Colman and Pen-y-cae get the identical teams as Pen-y-fai, a rural village, along with further towns over CF postcodes. Your location comes clearest from a postcode beginning CF31 4.
Stopped en route to Coed Tŷ-maen, or bang in the heart of Pen-y-fai, your car stays put — there is no need to shift it at all. Where it stands, that is where it gets drained. If you're somewhere hard to explain, close to Litchard Mission Church or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of guessing.
The one-line version
If it has not run, ring then keep it off. Run by now? Stop, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whichever case, in Pen-y-fai and Bridgend, on 0333 366 0103.