AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Portskewett: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the engine has run since it went in. Over in Mount Ballan or here in Portskewett, an unrun engine should stay unrun. Usually that is draining and properly cleaning it right there in Portskewett — and so keep your ignition and engine off then call 0333 366 0103. When the engine has run, pull in safely straight away, then switch the vehicle off. A larger job, then, but the identical opening move.
Further down: the situations our technicians meet, anywhere in Monmouthshire. Pick the one that fits.
On a Portskewett forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. It might be the Gulf, or perhaps the BP, or another forecourt in Portskewett.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is the best it can be. Still in your tank, with no fuel pulled onwards: that is where the AdBlue is.
What to do: do not get back in and start it to clear the pump. A few jobs: a shove into a bay with the staff helping, the bottle saved, and a call to us from the forecourt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, and so a car that cannot be pushed away is cleared right at the pump.
Portskewett, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dash had been nagging you. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in hand, did you look back at the cap you'd opened on the drive. Just off Main Road is not different from any other place.
Meaning? Provided the car hasn't moved since, it is close to the pump case. As it is reluctant to blend, AdBlue drops low inside the tank and stays. One night parked alters nothing.
Put the keys in the house tonight — otherwise a person might take it away first thing — and call us. In Southbrook or here in Portskewett, the draining happens at your drive. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
On the road in Portskewett with AdBlue in a diesel
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard arrived a short way after the fill. Possibly it was on King Harold's View, perhaps on the way out towards Bristol, under 15 miles away.
What it means: your fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. Past the filter, along the pipework, and — the more the distance — deeper into the injection pump and every injector. It goes deeper with each mile driven and each restart.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so and switch off. Service stations further along are too far: on the Prince of Wales Bridge, under a mile out of Portskewett, use the next junction. It will not have cleared, and so there's no sense starting it again to check. Roughly how far had it go? Tell us when you phone.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have had this vehicle hardly a week. Your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, and so no one told you the AdBlue inlet sits right next to your diesel. Wherever you are in Monmouthshire, any motorist could slip up.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Many rental and company contracts require the owner's sign-off for work.
Your move: hire firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us next, because settling it beforehand cuts time. Leave the vehicle off while the reply arrives, even if you're waiting outside Caldicot or close to St Mary's Church.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank in Portskewett?
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest answer there is. A slight ammonia smell lingers around your filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is hard to recall. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Severn Beach Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Deepweir.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no harm to the motor. Once it's inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. Turning on the car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it will draw it in.
Do this: behave as though it did, and don't start your motor. Ring us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in each Portskewett AdBlue drain
The work begins identically, whichever your situation. Forecourt, driveway, The Castle Inn's car park or a road by Harold's House — our van comes to your car, and three questions come next: what fluid, what amount, and whether it ran. Those replies decide the work, and you hear our quote by phone, before anyone heads out.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it is crucial, since deposits form and certain metals corrode, and none of it rinses out unaided. Last are the fuel filter, flushed or renewed if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of your car. Where the motor hasn't been started, allow roughly half an hour on site, for most jobs.
The last step is firing it up. Before our technicians head off, it is tested to be sure it runs smoothly on clean diesel. The whole job is done where your car is, and if it is noticed soon, 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. Worth remembering: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy as you wait pays.
About Portskewett, briefly
Portskewett is a small coastal village in Monmouthshire, situated near the Severn Estuary at an elevation of around 13 metres. Portskewett lies close to the English border, approximately 10 miles from Bristol and 112 miles from London. Portskewett has a mix of housing types, but detached homes are predominant in the area. Portskewett is surrounded by nearby places such as Southbrook, Sudbrook, and Black Rock.
Portskewett and Monmouthshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Sudbrook and Black Rock have the same teams as Portskewett, a coastal village, along with further towns over NP postcodes. Fastest of all: a NP26 5 postcode for your location.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Caldicot Castle and Country Park or in a car park in the middle of Portskewett, it does not need to move. Where it stands, that is where it is emptied. Phone and ask rather than guess if you are close to Sudbrook hill fort, near a border, or somewhere awkward to explain.
Your scenario, summed up
Unstarted? Leave it that way and ring. Run by now: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, in Portskewett or wherever across Monmouthshire.