What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Pen-y-fan
Has the motor run since the AdBlue went in? That single question settles almost everything about what comes next. If it has not, keep it that way, whether your car is around Pen-y-fan itself or out in Ty-isaf. Call 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and motor both off. In Pen-y-fan, such a case is generally emptied and cleaned where it stands. When your engine has been run, stop safely straight away, then switch the vehicle off. Step one remains unchanged, even though the work grows.
Below: the situations we see, wherever in Carmarthenshire. Pick yours.
Pen-y-fan forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just notice it while you are standing at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Be it Tesco, Morrisons or somewhere else around Pen-y-fan, the case is identical.
Put simply: no better spot exists to spot it. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
What to do: do not get back in and fire it up to clear the pump. Ring us from the forecourt once your car sits in a bay — the attendants will lend a hand to roll it — and save the bottle. Emptying it right at the petrol pump is possible if it cannot be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home around Pen-y-fan with AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dashboard had been warning you. Only by the recycling, the empty container in hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd used at the driveway. Drives near Llwynwhylwyg Terrace get it as much as any other street.
Meaning? As long as the car hasn't moved since, it is second to the pump case. On the bottom of the tank is exactly where AdBlue stays, because it will not blend with diesel — and a night going by makes no difference.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so no one moves the vehicle in the morning. Then call. In Trostre or right here around Pen-y-fan, the draining is done at your drive. The equipment works quietly enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
Pen-y-fan: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Possibly it was on Trostre Road, perhaps on the way out towards Swansea, under 10 miles away.
What it means: your fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. Mileage sets how far it goes: filter and pipework first, then the injection pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop safely — that is the next step — then turn it off. Leave at the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M4, under 5 miles from Pen-y-fan. It won't have cleared, so there is no sense restarting to check. About how far did it gone? Tell us when you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've just driven this car a week. Your own car either has no AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, and so nothing warned you the AdBlue cap was right beside the diesel. Across Carmarthenshire, nobody is safe from it.
The upshot: just as above, split by whether it ran, but with an added stage. The owner often needs to approve any work, under plenty of hire and company agreements.
Sorting it before we turn up is faster, and so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. Hanging on for an answer at the car park outside Llanelli, or near Asda Living? Leave your car off throughout.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Pen-y-fan
Truthfully, the best answer might be that you think so. A faint ammonia whiff lingers near your filler, the bottle feels too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. The gates of the local primary school in a hurry, say, or someone's drive out in Morfa.
The point: the motor is not hurt by some AdBlue splashed around the filler. If it is inside the diesel tank, though, it does. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Your move: act as though it got in, and don't start the motor. Describe what you noticed on your phone. A clear tank checked is a happier result than an already-run one drained.
Pen-y-fan: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Each case has the same opening to the job. Three questions come once our technicians reach your car — on a forecourt, a drive, a street by Marks & Spencer or the car park outside The South Star: the fluid, the quantity, and whether it has run. Your price is given over the phone, before a van leaves, and those answers shape the job.
Emptying your tank comes next, followed by a full flush — more important with urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not go on their own, no matter how long it sits. Finally come the fuel filter, flushed or renewed if necessary; clean diesel; and a test of the vehicle. The majority of unrun cars are a half-hour visit after the moment our technicians get there.
Firing it up comes at the end. With fresh diesel in, it runs while we make sure it's running smoothly, and then we leave. The whole job is done where your car is, and when it is noticed quickly, long-term damage is very rare. Nothing is paid upfront, payment is made on the day, and you get what your insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Pen-y-fan itself
Pen-y-fan is a small suburban area in Carmarthenshire, situated near the coast and close to the cities of Swansea and Llanelli. Pen-y-fan has a relatively low elevation of around 6 metres, and its proximity to the sea has influenced its development. Pen-y-fan is characterised by its semi-detached housing stock, which is typical of many suburban areas in Wales. Pen-y-fan is also near several other small communities, including Trostre and Coed Cae.
Pen-y-fan and Carmarthenshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Coed Cae and Bigyn get the identical teams as Pen-y-fan, a residential suburb, plus other places throughout SA postcodes. Quickest of all: a SA14 9 postcode to show where you stand.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Penyfan Park or in a car park in the middle of Pen-y-fan, it does not need to shift. The van empties it in place. Awkward to explain? Close to TK Maxx or a county line? Checking beats assuming, so ring.
Your situation, in one line
Where it has not run, ring and leave it off. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Pen-y-fan and anywhere in Carmarthenshire on 0333 366 0103.