AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Stanlow, and What to Do Next
Has the engine turned over since the AdBlue went in? This one question settles almost everything about what comes next. Not started yet? Then leave the car that way, wherever the car sits — Stanlow or Ellesmere Port. Normally that means draining and thoroughly purging it on the spot in Stanlow — and so leave the ignition and engine off and call 0333 366 0103. When the motor has been run, pull in safely first, then turn it off. A bigger job, then, yet the identical first move.
Match your case to a situation from the ones below, wherever across Cheshire you are.
Stanlow forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Only now, nozzle still in your hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. It might be the Sainsbury's, or the Shell, or a different station around Stanlow.
Meaning? Spotting it here is the best it can be. No pump has drawn it in, and so the AdBlue sits just in that tank.
Next: avoid the temptation to fire it up only to move away from the petrol pump. Phone us from the forecourt after the car sits in a bay — the staff will help push it — and keep the receipt. Stuck beside the pump? Our explosion-proof kit keeps a busy forecourt sensible, and so we can drain it in place.
Stanlow, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
Several days had passed with the warning light on. A bottle bought at the garage, emptied in on the drive — and it's just at the bin that the cap caught your eye. It happens on driveways just off South Road as frequently as anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue settles to the floor of that tank and remains there, no matter how long the night.
Put the keys in the house tonight — or a person may drive it away at breakfast — and phone us. In Outlet Village or here around Stanlow, the draining happens on your driveway. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Stanlow: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Lumpy running, smoke, falling power or a glowing dashboard arrived a mile or two beyond the fill. Elm Court, say, or the route to Chester — a run of under 10 miles.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled into the system. Distance sets how far it gets: filter and pipework first, then the injection pump and every injector. Every restart, like every mile, pushes it deeper.
Next: find a sensible place, stop, and turn your engine off. Stanlow sits under a mile from the M53; there, pull off at the first junction instead of pushing on to the services. Do not restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Ring us and say how far you went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had this car hardly a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers sit side by side here — unlike your own vehicle, which has none or stores it elsewhere. Anyone, wherever around Cheshire, could do it.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it has run, with one more stage. The owner frequently has to approve the work, under many hire and company contracts.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's faster settled before our engineers turn up than after. If you are stranded in the car park outside Ellesmere Port, or by St Bernard's Roman Catholic Church, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Stanlow?
Now and then, "I think so" is all you can honestly say. Too light, that bottle; a trace of ammonia round the filler; no clear memory of the cap. Sound familiar? Possibly it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Wolverham Primary and Nursery School, or on a friend's drive in Whitby.
Meaning? Drips outside the inlet never touch your motor at all. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different story. Starting the car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it would pull it in.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Don't start the car. Ring with what you saw: we'd rather confirm a clean tank than drain one once the engine has been run.
Stanlow: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Each situation has the same start to the work. Wherever your vehicle is — The Gunners's car park, a road beside M&S Outlet, a drive, a filling station — the van arrives and we ask about the fluid, the amount, and if your engine has been run. Over the phone, before dispatch, you hear the price, and those answers decide the job too.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it's essential, because deposits build up and some metals are attacked, and neither rinses away unaided. Fresh diesel is put in once your filter has been flushed or changed, and the car is then checked. Never started? Then about half an hour on site is most jobs.
The last step is starting the engine. Our technicians make sure it runs smoothly on fresh diesel before we go. If it is caught quickly, the car very rarely has permanent damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. Paying comes on the day, never in advance. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. Check your insurance while we're en route: misfuelling cover is included in many policies.
About Stanlow itself
Stanlow is a small suburban area in Cheshire, situated near the coast and approximately 6 miles from Chester. Stanlow has a low elevation of around 6 metres above sea level and is close to nearby places such as Outlet Village and Little Stanney. Stanlow is characterized by its predominantly semi-detached housing stock, reflecting its development as a residential area.
AdBlue drains in Stanlow, and across Cheshire too
Stanlow is a residential suburb, and the same teams that cover it work the places around it too, Wolverham and Little Stanney among them, across the CH postcode area. The whereabouts comes quickest from a postcode beginning CH65 4.
Centre of Stanlow or a layby towards Freeman's Copse: either way it is, your vehicle doesn't need to move at all for this drain. The van drains it where it stands. Assuming doesn't help near Mother And Child, close to a border or anywhere awkward to pin down; phone and ask.
Your scenario, summed up
Still unrun? Leave the car off and phone. Whatever line fits, Petrol in Diesel handles from there on 0333 366 0103, throughout Cheshire and within Stanlow — after you pull over, turn off then phone, if it has run.