AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in The Smelt, and What to Do Next
Everything turns on one detail: whether the engine has started since the AdBlue was added — more than anything else. Out in New Brighton or here in The Smelt, an unrun engine must stay unrun. Call 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and motor still off. In The Smelt, that is typically drained and flushed on the spot. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Below: the cases our engineers see, anywhere around Wrexham. Choose yours.
The Smelt forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just spot it while you're standing at the pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. Maybe you are at the Asda, possibly at the Esso, maybe somewhere else around The Smelt.
The upshot: of all places to notice, this is the best. The AdBlue is in the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
Your move: stay out of the driver's seat, however much the pump needs clearing. Get the attendants to help rolling it into a bay, hold on to the bottle, then ring us right there. If it cannot be shifted, it can be emptied at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
At home in The Smelt with AdBlue in your diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. Right off Smelt Lane is no less likely from any other place.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: keys indoors, and so nobody takes the vehicle anywhere first thing. Then, phone. Out in Bryngwyn or right here in The Smelt, the drain is done on your driveway. The pumping kit works quietly enough that it won't wake the neighbours at night.
On the road in The Smelt with AdBlue in a diesel
Rough running, smoke, falling power or a glowing dashboard started a mile or two beyond the top-up. Maybe heading to Wrexham, under 5 miles away, or just down Smelt Road.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked through the fuel system. Mileage decides how far it gets: filter and pipework first, then the high-pressure pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Pull in somewhere safe — that is the first step — then switch it off. On the M53, under 15 miles from The Smelt, that means the next junction, not the services further on. No trial restarts: clearing isn't something AdBlue will do. Phone, and say how far your car went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
Seven days back, it was unknown to you. Your own vehicle either does without AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, so nothing told you the AdBlue cap was just beside your diesel. Any driver, wherever in Wrexham, could make it.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. The owner frequently needs to sign off any work, under many rental and fleet contracts.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before our technicians arrive than after. Leave it switched off as the answer comes, whether you're waiting at Gwersyllt or close to The Salvation Army - Coedpoeth.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, in The Smelt
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest answer there is. Too light, the bottle; a hint of ammonia round the filler; a hazy recollection of the cap. Look familiar? The gates of the local primary school in a rush, perhaps, or someone's driveway over in Minera.
Meaning? Spills outside the inlet never touch the engine at all. If it's inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so would pull in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Don't fire it up. Tell us what you saw on the phone. A clean tank checked counts as a happier outcome than an already-run one emptied.
What every AdBlue drain around The Smelt has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, the job starts the same way. Wherever the vehicle is — Five Crosses Inn's car park, a street beside Coedpoeth War Memorial, a drive, a filling station — our van arrives and asks for the fluid, the quantity, and whether your motor has been run. Replies shape the work; the quote follows by phone whilst no one has set off yet.
Then the tank is cleared and the fuel system cleaned thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not rinse out on its own. Clean diesel goes in once the filter has been cleaned or changed, and your car is then checked. Never started? In that case about half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
Lastly, we fire it up. Before we leave, it's tested to be sure it runs smoothly on new diesel. Permanent damage is very rare if it's spotted soon, and the entire job is done where the vehicle is. Nothing is paid upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you receive what your insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Many policies cover misfuelling, and so look at yours as we head over.
About The Smelt itself
The Smelt is a suburban area situated on the outskirts of Wrexham, near the riverside and close to nearby places such as Bryngwyn and Talwrn. The Smelt has a population of around 2963 people and is characterised by semi-detached housing. The Smelt sits at an elevation of 232 metres, providing views of the surrounding countryside. The Smelt is located approximately 3.4 miles from Wrexham city centre, making it a convenient residential area.
The Smelt and Wrexham: AdBlue drains across the area
Being a residential suburb, The Smelt has the same vans as the surrounding towns — Coedpoeth, Talwrn — all the way across LL postcodes. Telling us your LL11 3 postcode finds you quickest of all.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Memorial Park or in a car park in the middle of The Smelt, it does not need to move. The drain is done right there. Phone and ask rather than guess if you are close to Coedpoeth Parish Hall, near a border, or somewhere tricky to explain.
Your scenario, in one line
Where it has not started, ring then leave it off. Whatever case fits, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, throughout Wrexham and within The Smelt — after you pull over, switch off and phone, if it has run.