What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Topsham
Has the engine turned over since the AdBlue went in? This single question decides almost everything else from here. Not started yet? Then leave it like that, whether the car is — Topsham or Exton. Usually that means emptying and properly purging it right there in Topsham — so keep your ignition and motor off and phone 0333 366 0103. Already run? Pull over when you safely can, then turn everything off. A larger job, yes, but the same first move.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in Devon it happened.
At the petrol pump around Topsham: AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: stood by the petrol pump, holding the bottle, you spot the cap you opened wasn't the correct one. It could be the JET, or the another forecourt nearby, or another station in Topsham.
Put simply: no better spot to be to spot it. Still inside that tank, with no fuel pulled onwards: that's where the AdBlue is.
Freeing the petrol pump is no excuse to run it — and so don't get back in. Three jobs: a shove into a bay with the staff helping, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from where you stand. Emptying it there at the pump is possible if it can't be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home around Topsham with AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Bought a bottle, poured it in at home, recycled the empty — and at that point checked the cap a second time, after the fact. Driveways near Exe Street get it as much as anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue drops to the floor of your tank and remains there, however long it waits.
Next: keys indoors, and so no one drives your vehicle anywhere first thing. Then, ring. Your driveway is where it gets emptied, be it in Topsham or Clyst St George. Our equipment runs quiet enough not to disturb the street at night.
On the road in Topsham with AdBlue in a diesel
Lumpy running, smoke, falling power or a lit dashboard arrived a mile or two after the fill. Fore Street, perhaps, or the way towards Exeter — a run of under 5 miles.
Meaning? The fuel pump has taken the AdBlue up. Through the fuel filter, along the pipework, and — the more the distance — deeper into the high-pressure pump and every injector. Each restart, like each mile, pushes it deeper.
Next: pick a safe place, stop, then switch your engine off. Services farther on can wait: from the M5, under a mile out of Topsham, use the next junction. It will not have cleared, and so there is no point starting it again to check. Tell us hear the mileage driven as you ring.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
A week ago, it was unknown to you. The AdBlue filler sits right next to the diesel one, which you did not know, since your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Wherever you happen to be across Devon, any driver can slip up.
Meaning? Whatever applies above applies too — run or unrun — and one further stage. Many hire and company agreements need the owner's sign-off for work.
Sorting it before we turn up is faster, and so ring the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. Stranded near Saint Nicholas or outside the nearest station until the firm replies, your car remains turned off the whole time.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Topsham
"I think so" is sometimes as honest answer there is. A slight ammonia smell hangs near your filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is a blur. A rushed stop by the gates of The Topsham School, or a visit to a friend in Lower Wear: either fits.
Put simply: a spill round the filler does the motor no harm. Once it's inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. If there is AdBlue in your tank, firing up the car would suck it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Take it that it went in, and don't turn your key. Ring and give the details: we'd rather confirm a clean tank than empty one once your engine has run.
Topsham: what each AdBlue drain has in common
The job opens the same way, whichever your case. Forecourt, driveway, The Passage House Inn's car park or a street beside St Margarets — the van comes to your vehicle, and three answers follow: what fluid, which quantity, and whether it has run. Answers set the work; the quote comes by phone whilst nobody has left yet.
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, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Finally come the fuel filter, flushed or renewed as needed; fresh diesel; and a test of your vehicle. If your motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
The final step is firing it up. Before we go, it is checked to be sure it runs smoothly on clean diesel. If it's caught early, the car very rarely has lasting damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. Nothing is paid upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you receive what the insurer wants: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Worth knowing: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your policy as you wait pays.
About Topsham, for a moment
Topsham is a small town in Devon, situated on the Exe Estuary near the city of Exeter. Topsham has a long history of maritime trade and sits at a low elevation of around 11 metres above sea level. Topsham is characterized by its terraced housing and is close to nearby places such as Clyst St George and Exminster. Topsham remains a popular residential area with a population of approximately 4193 people.
Topsham and Devon: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout EX postcodes, the vans covering Topsham — a coastal town — work surrounding towns too, Ebford and Exminster among them. Giving us your EX3 0 postcode pins you quickest of all.
Centre of Topsham or a lay-by near Topsham Recreation Ground: wherever it is, your vehicle doesn't need to move an inch for the drain. Where it sits, that's where it is drained. Ring and ask instead of guessing when you're by Matthews Hall, near a border, or anywhere awkward to explain.
Your scenario, in one line
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off then ring. Already run: stop, switch off and call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Topsham and anywhere around Devon on 0333 366 0103.