AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Rooks Nest, and What to Do Next
All of that hinges on a single fact: if the motor has been run after the AdBlue was added — far more than anything else. Out in Fishers Green or here in Rooks Nest, an unrun engine must remain that way. Phone 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and motor both off. Across Rooks Nest, such a case is typically emptied and cleaned where it stands. Pull over the moment it is safe then turn off, if it has been run. Step one remains unchanged, even though the work grows.
Further down: the situations our engineers see, wherever around Hertfordshire. Pick yours.
Rooks Nest forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only notice it while you are standing at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. It could be the Shell, or perhaps the Sainsbury's, or another forecourt around Rooks Nest.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. Still inside your tank, and no fuel pulled onwards: that's where the AdBlue sits.
Freeing the pump is no excuse to start it — so don't get back in. Get the attendants to help rolling it into a space, hold on to the receipt, then phone us from there. The equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a live forecourt, and so a car that cannot be pushed away is drained right at the pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Rooks Nest drive?
The warning light had been on for days. 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. Driveways close to Lancaster Close see it as much as anywhere.
Meaning? Provided the vehicle hasn't moved since, it is second to the forecourt case. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the vehicle in the morning. Then ring. Pin Green or Rooks Nest: wherever your driveway sits, that's where it gets cleared. Night-time empties beside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Rooks Nest?
A short way after filling up, the engine started misbehaving: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on the dash. Possibly it was on Great Ashby Way, maybe on the way out towards St Albans, under 15 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked into the fuel system. The injection pump and each injector get it as well on a bigger trip, once your filter and pipework have it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Your move: stop anywhere safe, then switch the motor off. Service stations farther on can wait: on the A1(M), under 3 miles out of Rooks Nest, take the next junction. No test restarts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue does. About how far had it gone? Tell us as you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
A week back, it was new to you. The AdBlue filler sits right beside the diesel filler, which you didn't know, because your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Throughout Hertfordshire, no one is safe from it.
The point: just as above, divided by whether it ran, only with one added stage. The owner frequently needs to sign off the work, under plenty of rental and company contracts.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before we get there than after. Leave it off as the reply comes, even if you are waiting outside Stevenage or close to Centenary Commemorative Plaque to Elizabeth Poston, 2005.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Rooks Nest?
Occasionally the fair answer is "I think so". Too light, the bottle; a hint of ammonia near the filler; a hazy recollection of which cap. Look familiar? The gates of Trotts Hill Primary and Nursery School in a rush, say, or a friend's drive over in Chells Manor.
The upshot: the engine isn't harmed by a little AdBlue spilled around the filler. Inside your diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue harms it. If there is AdBlue in the tank, turning on the car will pull it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Assume it went in, and don't turn your key. Phone and give the details: we'd rather find a clean tank than empty one after your engine has been run.
What each AdBlue drain in Rooks Nest has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Forecourt, driveway, Saint Nicholas's car park or a road by Only Connect — our van comes to the vehicle, and three questions come next: which liquid, which amount, and whether it ran. Those replies decide the work, and you hear our quote by phone, before anyone heads out.
Then the tank is cleared and your system flushed thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Last are your filter, cleaned or replaced as needed; clean diesel; and a check of your car. If your motor hasn't run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
We start the car at the end. We confirm it runs smoothly on clean diesel before leaving. The whole job is done where the car is, and if it is caught quickly, permanent damage is very uncommon. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing upfront. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Rooks Nest and where it is
Rooks Nest is a small hamlet in Hertfordshire, situated inland at an elevation of around 138 metres. Rooks Nest lies approximately 29 miles north of London and 13.5 miles southeast of St Albans, near the communities of Pin Green, Old Town, and Graveley. Rooks Nest is characterized by its predominantly terraced housing and quiet rural setting. Rooks Nest has a population of around 2401 residents.
AdBlue drains in Rooks Nest, and across Hertfordshire too
As a rural hamlet, Rooks Nest shares its vans with the surrounding towns — Graveley, Old Town — right through SG postcodes. Quickest of all: a SG1 4 postcode to show where you stand.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Canterbury Park or in a car park in the middle of Rooks Nest, it does not need to shift. Wherever it sits, that's where it is emptied. If you are somewhere hard to explain, close to St Nicholas Community Center or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of guessing.
The one-line version
Unstarted? Leave it that way and ring. Run already: stop, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, within Rooks Nest or wherever in Hertfordshire.