What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Porthill
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the motor has been run since it was put in. Not started so far? Then leave the car like that, wherever your vehicle sits — Porthill or Kingsland. Usually this means emptying and properly cleaning it on the spot around Porthill — so leave your key and motor off then ring 0333 366 0103. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. Step one stays the same, even if the work is bigger.
Further down: the situations our engineers see, wherever across Shropshire. Choose the one that fits.
On a Porthill forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only notice it as you're standing at the pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. It might be the Local, or perhaps the Esso, or a different station in Porthill.
What it means: this is the ideal location to find out. Just the tank holds AdBlue; not one component past it has taken any in.
Freeing the petrol pump is no reason to start it — and so do not get back in. Ask the staff to help you roll the car into a parking bay, keep the till receipt or the bottle, and phone us from the forecourt. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a live forecourt, so a vehicle that cannot be pushed clear is emptied where it is at the petrol pump.
At home in Porthill with AdBlue in your diesel tank
On the dash, a reminder had been lit all week. Only at the recycling bin, the empty bottle in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you had used at the driveway. Right off Roman Road is no different from any other place.
Put simply: if the vehicle has not been driven since, it's almost equal to finding out at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue settles to the floor of the tank and stays there, however long it waits.
Keep the keys in the house tonight — otherwise a person might drive it away first thing — and call us. Copthorne or Porthill: whichever your driveway is, that's where it gets emptied. Our equipment works quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
On the road around Porthill with AdBlue in a diesel
Topped up, drove away, and before long your engine was turning unevenly, smoking, down on power, or lighting up the dash. It might have been driving for Wrexham, under 50 miles away, or simply along Porthill Road.
What it means: your fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. The injection pump and every injector see it as well on a longer trip, after the filter and pipework have it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Pull in safely — that is the first job — then switch everything off. Porthill lies under 10 miles from the M54; there, come off at the first junction rather than pressing on for the services. Do not restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Call us and say how far you travelled.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've only driven this vehicle for days. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers sit side by side here — unlike your own car, which has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere. Anywhere you are around Shropshire, any driver could slip up.
In short: an extra stage on top of the cases above, and those turn on if it has run. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on your car.
Do this: hire firm or fleet manager first, us second, since sorting it beforehand cuts time. If you are stranded in the car park at Shrewsbury, or by Woodfield Tennis Club, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Porthill
Truthfully, the only answer might be that you think it did. A faint ammonia-like whiff hangs near your filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. The gates of St George's Junior School in a hurry, perhaps, or someone's driveway out in Shrewsbury.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no damage to the engine. A diesel tank with AdBlue inside is another story. Firing up your car won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it would pull it in.
Take it that it was put in, and don't start the engine. Tell us what you saw on your phone. A clean tank looked at is a better result than a run one emptied.
Every AdBlue drain around Porthill shares these steps
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Three questions come when our engineers reach the car — at a forecourt, a drive, a street by Squash Courts or the car park outside The Beacon: the liquid, the amount, and whether it has run. On the phone, before anything else, you hear the price, and those answers decide the work too.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it's crucial, because crystals build up and some metals are attacked, and none of that rinses away unaided. Last are the filter, cleaned or replaced as needed; fresh diesel; and a check of your vehicle. If your engine has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
The last step is starting the car. We confirm it runs properly on new diesel before we leave. When it is caught early, the vehicle very rarely has long-term damage, and the entire job happens where it is. Paying is that day, never in advance. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. Dig out your insurance while we're en route: cover for misfuelling comes built into plenty of policies.
About Porthill and where it is
Porthill is a suburban area in Shropshire, situated on the banks of the River Severn at an elevation of around 80 metres. Porthill lies near several other residential areas, including Copthorne, Radbrook, and Frankwell, and is located approximately 25 miles from Wrexham. Porthill has a population of around 3422 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Porthill is also relatively distant from London, at a distance of around 139 miles.
AdBlue drains around Porthill, and across Shropshire too
Throughout SY postcodes, the vans serving Porthill — a residential suburb — work nearby places as well, Radbrook and Frankwell included. Your whereabouts is quickest from a postcode that starts SY3 9.
No moving is needed, whether stopped in the centre of Porthill or in a layby heading to Radbrook Road Recreation Ground, and so keep it put. We drain it where it stands. Assuming won't help beside 23rd Shrewsbury Scout hut, close to a county line or somewhere awkward to describe; ring and check.
The one-line version
If it hasn't run, phone and keep it off. Started already? Pull over, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whichever case, across Porthill and Shropshire, on 0333 366 0103.