AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Penrhyndeudraeth: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the motor has been run since it got in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is around Penrhyndeudraeth itself or out in Bryn Bwbach. Switch nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, and expect a proper flush after a drain, carried out just where your vehicle stands in Penrhyndeudraeth. Pull over the moment you safely can then switch off, if it has already run. It's a bigger job, though step one doesn't change.
Compare your case to one of the list below, anywhere around Gwynedd you are.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Penrhyndeudraeth forecourt
Imagine it: stood by the pump, holding the bottle, you realise the cap you opened was not the correct one. Maybe you're at the Esso, perhaps at the Shell, perhaps somewhere else in Penrhyndeudraeth.
The point: of every spot to notice, the forecourt is the best. Just that tank holds AdBlue; not one component past it has drawn any in.
Freeing the pump is no excuse to run it — so do not get back in. A few things: a shove into a bay with the staff assisting, the bottle saved, and a call to us from the forecourt. Stuck by the petrol pump? Explosion-proof equipment makes a busy forecourt sensible, so we can drain the vehicle in place.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Penrhyndeudraeth
Days had gone by with the warning light on. Only at the recycling bin, the empty bottle in your hand, did you look back at the cap you'd opened at the drive. Houses just off A487 get hit as often as everywhere else.
In short: if the car has not moved since, it's almost equal to spotting it at the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: stop any early drive by keeping the keys in the house, then phone us. In Penlan or here in Penrhyndeudraeth, the draining happens on your driveway. Our pumping kit works quiet enough that it won't wake the street at night.
Penrhyndeudraeth: 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. Bank Place, perhaps, or the way to Bangor — a run of under 25 miles.
The upshot: the system has drawn AdBlue in by now. The high-pressure pump and every injector see it as well on a longer run, after the fuel filter and pipework have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Your move: stop somewhere safe, then switch the engine off. On the Moreton Spur, over 50 miles from Penrhyndeudraeth, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Starting it again to test gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Roughly what distance had it go? Say so as you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've had the vehicle hardly a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, the inlet is just next to your diesel cap — a surprise to you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Gwynedd.
The point: exactly as above, divided by whether it ran, but with an added stage. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Next: phone the rental company or the fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before we arrive is faster. If you're stranded in the car park outside the nearest station, or by Penrhyndeudraeth Library, while you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
Penrhyndeudraeth: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Now and then, "I think so" is the most anyone can truthfully say. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia about your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. The gates of the local primary school in a hurry, perhaps, or a friend's driveway over in Garreg.
Meaning? Drips outside the filler don't reach your engine at all. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in the tank will be pulled in by firing up your car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Your move: behave as if it got in, and don't start your engine. Describe what you noticed on your phone. A clean tank looked at is a better outcome than an already-run one drained.
Penrhyndeudraeth: what every AdBlue drain has in common
The job opens identically, whatever the situation. Anywhere your car stands — The Griffin's car park, a road by Eglwys y Drindod Sanctaidd, a drive, a forecourt — the van gets there and asks for the fluid, the quantity, and whether your engine has been run. Those replies determine this work, and you hear our price by phone, before anyone sets off.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at certain metals used in fuel systems, and so it won't rinse out on its own; that's why the flush, after the drain, counts much more here than with petrol. Clean diesel is put in once the fuel filter has been flushed or replaced, and the car is finally tested. If the engine hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Our technicians start the car last. With clean diesel in, it runs while our technicians make sure it's running properly, and then we go. The whole job is done where the car is, and when it's spotted early, permanent damage is very rare. Nothing is taken upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you receive what your insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Many insurance policies cover misfuelling, so look at yours while the van travels.
About Penrhyndeudraeth
Penrhyndeudraeth is a coastal village in northwest Wales, situated near the mouth of the Dwyryd estuary. Penrhyndeudraeth lies close to the villages of Penlan, Llandecwyn, and Minffordd, and is approximately 20 miles from Bangor. Penrhyndeudraeth has a population of around 1180 people, predominantly living in terraced housing. Penrhyndeudraeth is relatively low-lying, with an average elevation of 14 metres above sea level.
Penrhyndeudraeth and Gwynedd: AdBlue drains across the area
Over LL postcodes, the teams serving Penrhyndeudraeth — a coastal village — work nearby towns as well, Llandecwyn and Minffordd among them. Quickest of all: a LL48 6 postcode for your location.
Whether your car is on a lay-by on the way to Coed Hafod-talog or in a car park in the middle of Penrhyndeudraeth, it does not need to move. Draining happens right there. Assuming doesn't help near Y Neuadd Goffa, on a border or anywhere awkward to pin down; ring and check.
In one line: your situation
Not run yet: keep the car off then ring. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Penrhyndeudraeth and anywhere around Gwynedd on 0333 366 0103.