What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Pimperne
One thing counts above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether the engine has run since. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is around Pimperne itself or out in Tarrant Launceston. Ring 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and motor still off. Across Pimperne, that is generally drained and flushed on the spot. Stop the minute you safely can then turn off, if it has been run. It's a larger job, though step one does not change.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever around Dorset it happened.
On a Pimperne forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Just at this point, nozzle yet in your hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. It might be the Esso, or the Tesco, or another forecourt in Pimperne.
In short: no better place exists to spot it. No pump has drawn it through, so the AdBlue stays only in that tank.
Do this: stay out of the car, even if the pump wants clearing. Phone us from the forecourt once your vehicle sits in a space — the staff will help push it — then keep the receipt. Stuck by the petrol pump? Our explosion-proof kit keeps a busy forecourt safe, and so we can drain the car in place.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Pimperne drive?
Several days had gone by with the warning light on. Bought a container, tipped it in at home, recycled the empty — and only then looked at the cap again, too late. Houses just off Anvil Road get caught out as much as everywhere else.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue settles to the base of the tank and remains put, no matter how long it waits.
Your move: keys indoors, and so nobody drives your car off first thing. Then, ring. Blandford Camp or Pimperne: wherever your drive sits, that's where it gets drained. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
Pimperne: 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. Maybe driving for Salisbury, under 25 miles away, or just along Down Road.
Meaning? The pump has sucked the AdBlue up. It has been through the fuel filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the injectors. More miles, more restarts: deeper it travels.
What to do: pull over where it is safe to do so and switch off. On the M27, under 25 miles from Pimperne, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Restarting it to test achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Phone, saying what distance your vehicle went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've just had this vehicle for days. Unbeknown to you, the two inlets are next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has no AdBlue or stores it in another spot. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Dorset.
Meaning? Whatever applies above counts here — run or not — plus one further step. The owner frequently needs to approve the work, under plenty of hire and company agreements.
Next: ring the rental company or your fleet manager first, then us — settling it before we arrive is faster. Leave the car off while the reply arrives, even if you're waiting outside Gillingham (Dorset) or near St Peter.
Pimperne: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Occasionally 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 can't remember which cap you took off. Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Pimperne Church of England VC Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Tarrant Hinton.
Put simply: a spill near the filler leaves your motor no harm. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different matter. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would draw in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Assume it got in, and don't start your engine. Call us and explain what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Pimperne: what each AdBlue drain has in common
The work opens identically, whichever your situation. Our engineers come to the vehicle, whether it is at a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside Anvil Inn or a side street near Pimperne Village Hall, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and if your motor has run. Those answers decide the work, and you hear our quote by phone, before anybody heads out.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at certain metals in fuel systems, and so it won't rinse out on its own; that is why the flush, after the drain, counts far more here than with petrol. Last come your filter, flushed or replaced if necessary; fresh diesel; and a check of the vehicle. Never started? In that case about half an hour on site covers most jobs.
Our engineers fire it up last. Before we go, it is checked to confirm it runs smoothly on fresh diesel. The whole job is done where the vehicle is, and when it is caught quickly, long-term damage is very unusual. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Check your insurance before we arrive: cover for misfuelling comes included in plenty of policies.
About Pimperne, for a moment
Pimperne is a village situated in the picturesque River Stour valley in Dorset, with an elevation of around 60 metres. Pimperne lies near the towns of Blandford Forum and Langton Long Blandford, and is approximately 19.6 miles from Salisbury. Pimperne has a population of around 776 people, predominantly living in detached houses. Pimperne is also close to Blandford Camp, a major military base.
AdBlue drains in Pimperne, and across Dorset too
Throughout DT postcodes, the vans serving Pimperne — a village — work surrounding towns as well, Blandford Forum and Langton Long Blandford included. Giving us a DT11 8 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Ferns Plantation or in a car park in the middle of Pimperne, it does not need to shift. Our technicians drain it where it is. If you are somewhere hard to describe, close to The Pavilion or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of assuming.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the car off then ring. Run by now: pull over, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, within Pimperne or anywhere across Dorset.