What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Trelowth
One thing counts above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is whether your engine has been started afterwards. Over in Little Polgooth or right around Trelowth, an unstarted motor must remain unrun. Usually this means emptying and properly purging it right there in Trelowth — and so leave your key and motor off then ring 0333 366 0103. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. Stage one remains unchanged, even if the work is bigger.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in Cornwall it happened.
At the petrol pump around Trelowth: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just notice it as you're standing at the pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. It could be the EG On the Go, or perhaps the Texaco, or another forecourt in Trelowth.
What it means: this is the ideal location to find out. Still in your tank, and nothing drawn through: that's where the AdBlue is.
Do this: stay out of the driver's seat, even if the pump needs freeing. Have the staff to help rolling it to a bay, hold on to the receipt, then phone us right there. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, and so a car that cannot be pushed clear is drained where it is at the pump.
Trelowth, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Only by the recycling, the empty container in hand, did you glance back at the cap you had used on the drive. It happens on drives just off Trelowth Road as frequently as anywhere.
Put simply: if your vehicle hasn't moved since, it's almost equal to finding out at the pump. As it is reluctant to mix, AdBlue settles low inside that tank and waits. A night standing changes none of that.
Next: stop an early move by keeping the keys in the house, then phone us. Out in Polgooth or here in Trelowth, the draining happens at your drive. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road in Trelowth with AdBlue in a diesel
Filled up, drove away, and before long your motor was turning unevenly, smoking, down on power, or lighting up your dash. Rose Hill, perhaps, or the way towards Truro — a run of under 15 miles.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue up. Mileage decides how deep it goes: filter and lines first, then the injection pump and each injector. It travels deeper with each extra mile driven and every restart.
Pull in safely — that is the next job — then switch it off. Trelowth sits over 50 miles from the M5; there, pull off at the first junction rather than pressing on for the services. Do not restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Ring us and say how far you travelled.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It's a car you have had for a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, the inlet is right next to the diesel inlet — news to you. Anyone, wherever across Cornwall, might do the same.
In short: an extra step on top of the cases above, which turn on if it's run. The owner frequently has to approve the work, under many rental and fleet agreements.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before our engineers arrive than after. If you're stranded in the car park at St Austell, or by Polgooth Methodist Church, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Trelowth
"I think so" is often as honest answer there is. Which cap came off, you cannot recall; meanwhile the bottle weighs less than expected, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by the filler. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at St Mewan Community Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Lower Sticker.
Meaning? Drips outside the filler don't reach the motor at all. Inside the diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue harms it. Turning on your car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it would draw it in.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't crank it. Tell us what you noticed on the phone. A clean tank looked at is a happier outcome than an already-run one drained.
The common ground in each Trelowth AdBlue drain
Each case has the same start to the job. We come to the vehicle, whether it's at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside Hewas Inn or a side street close to Polgooth Village Hall, and ask three things: what went in, roughly how much, and if your engine has run. The price is given on the call, before a van leaves, and those replies set the job.
AdBlue forms crystals and eats at certain metals used in fuel systems, so it does not rinse out on its own; that's why the flush, after the drain, counts much more here than with petrol. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Never started? In that case about half an hour on site covers most jobs.
The last step is starting it. With clean diesel in, it runs while our engineers confirm it is running correctly, and then we head off. The entire job is done where the car is, and if it's spotted early, lasting damage is very rare. Payment comes on the day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About Trelowth itself
Trelowth is a small village in Cornwall, situated near the coast and approximately 10 miles from Truro. Trelowth sits at an elevation of around 103 metres, overlooking the surrounding countryside. Trelowth is characterised by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its rural setting. Trelowth is close to nearby villages such as Polgooth and Sticker.
Trelowth and Cornwall: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout PL postcodes, the vans serving Trelowth — a coastal village — work surrounding places as well, Sticker and St Mewan included. Telling us your PL26 7 postcode pins you fastest of all.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to The Goffin or in a car park in the middle of Trelowth, it does not need to shift. Where it stands, that is where it gets cleared. If you are somewhere hard to explain, close to St Mark Mission Church or close to a border, ring and ask rather than guessing.
Your situation, summed up
Engine not started: ring, leaving it switched off. Run already? Stop, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whichever case, in Trelowth and Cornwall, on 0333 366 0103.