What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in The Pound
One thing counts above all once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is if the engine has been started since. Anywhere the vehicle stands — Branbridges, The Pound — never run a motor that has not been started yet. Leave the motor and the ignition off then phone 0333 366 0103; it is usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is in The Pound. When the motor has been run, pull in safely straight away, then turn it off. The job is bigger, yet the first step is the same.
Below: the cases we meet, anywhere in Kent. Choose yours.
The Pound forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only notice it as you're stood at the pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Maybe you are at the the nearest petrol station, perhaps at the Shell, possibly somewhere else in The Pound.
Put simply: no better spot to be to spot it. No pump has drawn it in, so the AdBlue stays only in your tank.
What to do: don't get back in and start the car to clear the petrol pump. Ask the attendants to help you roll your car into a parking spot, keep the receipt or the bottle, then phone us from the forecourt. If it cannot be moved, it can be drained at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a The Pound drive?
For days the dashboard had been warning you. Only at the recycling bin, the empty bottle in your hand, did you look back at the cap you had used on the driveway. It occurs on driveways just off Fell Mead as frequently as anywhere.
In short: if your car hasn't been driven since, it is almost equal to finding out at the pump. On the floor of the tank is where AdBlue stays, because it won't mix with diesel — and a night passing changes nothing of the difference.
Your move: keys in the house, so no one takes your car off at breakfast. After that, phone. In East Peckham or here in The Pound, the drain happens on your drive. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around The Pound?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Perhaps it was on Pound Road, possibly on the way out towards Southend-on-Sea, under 50 miles away.
The point: your system has drawn AdBlue in by now. The high-pressure pump and each injector see it too on a longer trip, once your filter and pipework have had it. More driving, more restarts: deeper it goes.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so then switch off. Services further on can wait: from the M26, under 10 miles out of The Pound, take the next junction. Starting it again to check gets nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. About what distance had it gone? Tell us when you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
A week ago, the car was new to you. Unknown to you, the two fillers sit next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or stores it in another spot. Anywhere you happen to be across Kent, any driver can be caught.
The point: just as above, split by if it ran, only with an added stage. Work on the vehicle frequently needs the owner's go-ahead under hire or fleet agreements.
Sorting it before the van arrives is quicker, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. Stuck by East Peckham Library or outside Beltring till someone replies, the car stays turned off the whole time.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around The Pound?
At times, "I think so" is the most anyone can truthfully say. What cap was taken off, you cannot recall; meanwhile the bottle feels less than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by your filler. Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at East Peckham Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Hale Street.
In short: a spill near the filler does the motor unharmed. Inside the diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue harms it. If there is AdBlue in that tank, firing up the car would pull it in, and it would not tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't crank it. Ring us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
What each AdBlue drain in The Pound has in common
Every situation gets the same opening to the job. Filling station, drive, Man of Kent's car park or a street by Holy Trinity — our van comes to the car, and three questions follow: which liquid, what quantity, and if it ran. Your price is given on the call, before a van leaves, and those replies set the job.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to certain metals used in fuel systems, and so it won't rinse out on its own; that's why the flush, after the drain, counts far more with AdBlue than with petrol. Then is the fuel filter — flushed, or swapped when necessary — followed by fresh diesel, and a test of the vehicle. If the motor hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Our engineers fire it up last. With new diesel in, it runs while we check it is running correctly, and then we go. Our technicians do the whole job where your car is, and permanent damage is very uncommon when it has been caught soon. Nothing is taken upfront, payment is made on the day, and you receive what the insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Check your insurance while we're en route: misfuelling cover comes built into many policies.
About The Pound
The Pound is a suburban area situated on the riverside in Kent, with an elevation of around 14 metres. The Pound lies near several small settlements, including East Peckham and Addlestead, and is characterized by its semi-detached housing stock. The Pound is located approximately 30 miles from London and 26 miles from Southend-on-Sea, making it a commuter base for those working in larger cities. The Pound has a population of around 2453 residents.
The Pound and Kent: AdBlue drains across the area
Over TN postcodes, the vans covering The Pound — a residential suburb — reach nearby places too, Snoll Hatch and Addlestead among them. Fastest of all: a TN12 5 postcode to show your location.
No towing is needed, whether stopped in the centre of The Pound or on a layby en route to Moat Wood, so keep it put. The van drains it in place. Tricky to explain? Close to Hop Farm Family Park or a county line? Checking beats guessing, so phone.
The one-line version
If it hasn't started, phone and leave it off. Run already: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, in The Pound or wherever across Kent.