What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Trevance
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the motor has run since it was put in. Out in Trenance or right in Trevance, an unrun motor must remain that way. Usually this means draining and properly rinsing it on the spot around Trevance — so leave the ignition and motor off and call 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. A larger job, yes, yet the same opening step.
Wherever in Cornwall it took place, one of the situations below matches yours.
At the pump around Trevance: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just spot it as you're standing at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. It might be the Texaco, or the BP, or another forecourt around Trevance.
In short: there is no better place exists to spot it. Nothing has drawn it through, and so the AdBlue sits just inside that tank.
What to do: do not get back in and crank it to clear the pump. Three things: a push into a bay with the staff assisting, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from where you stand. Emptying it there at the pump is possible when it cannot be shifted, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Trevance
Days had passed with the warning light on. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look a second time at the cap. Drives near Gardeners Way get it as much as anywhere.
The upshot: zero miles since leaves it almost as good to spotting it at the pump. As it is reluctant to mix, AdBlue drops low inside that tank and stays. A night standing changes nothing.
Your move: keys in the house, and so no one takes your vehicle off at breakfast. Then, phone. Your driveway is where it is drained, whether in Trevance or St Issey. Our equipment works quietly enough that it won't wake the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Trevance?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Somewhere on Meadow way or else heading towards Truro — under 25 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled into your fuel system. The high-pressure pump and every injector get it too on a longer trip, once your filter and pipework have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Pull in safely — that is the first job — then turn everything off. Leave at the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M5, over 50 miles from Trevance. It won't have cleared, and so there is no point starting it again to find out. Ring us and say how far you travelled.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It's a vehicle you have had for a week. Unknown to you, the two inlets sit side by side here — unlike your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or stores it in another spot. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Cornwall.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. Plenty of rental and fleet contracts need the owner's approval before repairs.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before we arrive than after. Leave the car switched off while the reply arrives, whether you are waiting at Roche or close to St Issey.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Trevance
Occasionally the fair answer is "I think so". The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia about the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. Maybe at a friend's driveway in Little Petherick, or rushing outside St Issey Church of England Primary School at the school run.
What it means: a little spilled around the filler does no damage to your engine. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so would draw in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Do not crank it. Call us and describe what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Trevance: what every AdBlue drain has in common
The work begins identically, whichever your case. Wherever your vehicle is — Ring O'Bells's car park, a street beside St Issey Village Hall, a driveway, a forecourt — our van arrives and we ask about the liquid, the quantity, and if the motor has been run. On the phone, ahead of anything else, you are told the quote, and those answers decide the job too.
Draining that tank comes next, then a full flush — more important after urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion will not go by themselves, no matter how long it sits. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Where your motor has not been started, expect about half an hour once we arrive, for most jobs.
Firing it up comes at the end. With new diesel in, it runs while we check it's running properly, and then we leave. We do the entire job where your car is, and lasting damage is very uncommon if it has been noticed soon. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Check your insurance while we arrive: misfuelling cover is included in plenty of policies.
About Trevance and where it is
Trevance is a small coastal hamlet in Cornwall, situated near the villages of St Issey and Mellingey, with Burgois also in the surrounding area. Trevance sits at an elevation of 74 metres, overlooking the coastline of the South West region. Trevance has a population of around 587 people, predominantly living in detached houses. Trevance is located approximately 18 miles from the city of Truro and 219 miles from London.
AdBlue drains across Cornwall, Trevance included
Trevance is a rural hamlet, and the same vans that cover it work the towns near it too, Mellingey and Burgois among them, across the PL postcode area. Your whereabouts comes clearest from a postcode that starts PL27 7.
No moving is needed, be it parked centrally in Trevance or on a lay-by heading to Willow Croft, and so leave it where it is. Draining is done on the spot. Assuming won't help beside Little Petherick Village Hall, on a border or somewhere awkward to pin down; ring and check.
In one line: your situation
Motor never started: phone, leaving it switched off. Started by now? Pull over, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whatever case, in Trevance and Cornwall, on 0333 366 0103.