AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Rockhead: What Now?
All of it hinges on a single fact: whether your engine has started since the AdBlue went in — far more than anything else. Wherever your vehicle is — Penpethy, Rockhead — never run a motor that has not run yet. Call 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and motor both off. In Rockhead, such a case is generally drained and cleaned where it stands. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. Step one remains unchanged, even though the job is bigger.
Wherever in Cornwall it happened, one of the situations below fits yours.
At the pump around Rockhead: AdBlue in a diesel
You are at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Perhaps you're at the Gulf, possibly at the Valley Truckle Filling Station, perhaps somewhere else around Rockhead.
The upshot: of all places to notice, the forecourt is the best. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Freeing the petrol pump is no reason to start it — so don't get back in. Phone us from the forecourt once your vehicle sits in a space — the staff will lend a hand to push it — then save the receipt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a live forecourt, so a car that can't be pushed clear gets emptied where it is at the pump.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home around Rockhead
Several days had gone by with the dash light on. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. Just off Rendle Street is no less likely from anywhere.
The upshot: no driving since leaves it almost equal to spotting it at the petrol pump. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue settles to the base of that tank and remains there, however long it waits.
Your move: the keys in the house, and so no one takes your vehicle off first thing. Then, ring. Delabole or Rockhead: wherever your drive sits, that's where it gets cleared. The pumping kit runs quietly enough that it won't wake the street at night.
Rockhead: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Filled up, pulled away, and before long the engine was turning roughly, smoking, down on power, or lighting up the dash. Maybe it was on Rockhead Street, possibly on the way out towards Truro, under 50 miles away.
What it means: your fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. The injection pump and every injector see it as well on a bigger run, after your filter and lines have it. More miles, more starts: further it goes.
Your move: pull up somewhere sensible, then turn your motor off. Services farther on are too far: on the M5, over 50 miles out of Rockhead, use the first junction. It won't have cleared, and so there's no point restarting to find out. Call, saying how far your car went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
You have just had this car for days. Your own car either has no AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, and so nothing told you the AdBlue cap was just beside your diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Cornwall.
The upshot: just as above, divided by if it ran, only with an added step. The owner frequently needs to sign off any work, under plenty of hire and fleet agreements.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before our engineers get there than after. Keep it off as the answer arrives, whether you're waiting at the nearest station or close to Delabole Methodist Church.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Rockhead?
At times, "I think so" is the most anyone can honestly say. What cap came off, you cannot say; meanwhile the bottle weighs lighter than expected, and ammonia lingers by the filler. Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Delabole Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Trewarmett.
In short: a spill near the filler leaves the motor unharmed. Once it is inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Do this: behave as though it did, and never start your engine. Inspecting a tank that proves clean beats draining one once it's been run — so phone and describe to us what you noticed.
What each AdBlue drain in Rockhead has in common
The job begins identically, whichever the case. Three questions are asked once we reach the car — on a forecourt, a drive, a road by St. John the Evangelist or the car park at The Bettle and Chisel: the fluid, the amount, and if it has been started. Answers set the work; the price follows on the call whilst nobody has left yet.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it's essential, because deposits build up and certain metals corrode, and none of that washes out unaided. Clean diesel goes in once the filter has been cleaned or changed, and the car is finally tested. Not started? In that case roughly half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
We fire it up last. Our engineers check it runs correctly on clean diesel before we go. Our technicians do the entire job where the car is, and long-term damage is very unusual if it has been spotted quickly. Paying is on the day, never upfront. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Check your insurance before we're en route: misfuelling cover is included in plenty of policies.
About Rockhead itself
Rockhead is a coastal locality in Cornwall, situated approximately 205 metres above sea level, with views out to the Atlantic Ocean. Rockhead lies within a short distance of several nearby settlements, including Delabole, Pengelly, and Trewen, and is around 29 miles from the city of Truro. Rockhead has a population of around 652 people, residing primarily in semi-detached housing. Rockhead is located in the South West region of England, about 208 miles from London.
AdBlue drains about Rockhead and across Cornwall
Over PL postcodes, the vans serving Rockhead — a coastal area — reach surrounding towns too, Pengelly and Trewen among them. Your location comes clearest from a postcode beginning PL33 9.
No towing is required, be it stopped centrally in Rockhead or on a lay-by heading to Bowood Park Golf Course, and so keep it where it is. Draining happens right there. Phone and check rather than guess if you are by Viewing Platform, near a boundary, or anywhere awkward to explain.
The one-line version
Unstarted? Keep the vehicle off then ring. Started already? Pull over, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whichever case, in Rockhead and Cornwall, on 0333 366 0103.