What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in West Mersea
One thing matters above all once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is whether the motor has run afterwards. Over in Little Wigborough or right around West Mersea, an unstarted engine should stay unrun. Usually that means draining and properly rinsing it on the spot in West Mersea — and so keep your ignition and engine off then phone 0333 366 0103. Stop the minute you safely can then turn off, if it has already run. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Further down: the situations we see, wherever around Essex. Choose yours.
On a West Mersea forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
You are at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Maybe you are at the Old Forge Filling Station, possibly at the another forecourt nearby, possibly somewhere else in West Mersea.
Meaning? Spotting it here is the best it gets. Just the tank holds AdBlue; not one component past it has drawn it in.
Freeing the pump is no excuse to run it — so do not get back in. Ring us from the forecourt once the car sits in a space — the staff will help push it — then keep the receipt. Emptying it right at the pump is fine when it can't be shifted, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a West Mersea drive?
For days the dash had been nagging you. Picked up a container, poured it in at home, recycled the empty — and only then looked at the cap again, too late. Just off High Street is no different from any other place.
Put simply: if the vehicle hasn't moved since, it's nearly as good as spotting it at the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Next: prevent any early-morning move by putting the keys indoors, then ring us. In Barrow Hill or right here in West Mersea, the drain is done on your driveway. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around West Mersea?
A mile or two after filling up, the motor started playing up: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on your dash. Maybe heading for Colchester, under 10 miles away, or just along Church Road.
What it means: your fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. Distance sets how deep it gets: filter and lines to begin with, then the high-pressure pump and every injector. It travels further with each mile covered and every restart.
Your move: stop somewhere sensible, then turn the motor off. Leave by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M25, under 50 miles from West Mersea. Do not restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Call us and say how far you went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It is a motor you have had for a week. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers sit side by side here — unlike your own car, which has none or keeps it elsewhere. Any driver, wherever across Essex, could make the same.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it has run, with one more stage. The owner frequently needs to sign off the work, under plenty of rental and fleet agreements.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's faster settled before we arrive than after. Waiting for a reply in the car park at Wivenhoe, or beside West Mersea Library? Leave the engine off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, West Mersea?
Occasionally the fair answer is "I think so". Lighter, that bottle; a hint of ammonia round the filler; a hazy memory of the cap. Sound familiar? A hurried stop by the gates of Mersea Island School, or a call to a friend in Great Wigborough: both fits.
The upshot: your motor is not hurt by a little AdBlue spilled around the outside. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would pull in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Your move: act as though it did, and don't start the engine. Tell us what you noticed on the phone. A clean tank looked at counts as a happier result than an already-run one emptied.
The common ground in every West Mersea AdBlue drain
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Filling station, driveway, White Hart Inn's car park or a street by The Mersea Centre — our van reaches the vehicle, and three answers follow: which fluid, what quantity, and if it ran. Over the phone, before anything else, you are told the price, and those answers shape the work too.
Emptying your tank comes first, followed by a careful flush — more vital with urea than after petrol, because crystals and corrosion will not clear on their own, however long it sits. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. The majority of unrun cars are a half-hour visit after the moment our engineers turn up.
We fire it up last. With new diesel in, it runs while our technicians check it's running correctly, and then we go. Our technicians do the whole job where the car is, and permanent damage is very unusual if it has been noticed quickly. Paying is that day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About West Mersea
West Mersea is a coastal town in Essex, situated on the Mersea Island, with an elevation of around 17 metres above sea level. West Mersea lies off the coast of mainland Essex, near the city of Colchester, and is connected to the mainland by a causeway. West Mersea is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock and its proximity to nearby places such as Barrow Hill and Peldon. West Mersea has a population of approximately 6788 residents.
AdBlue drains about West Mersea and across Essex
Peldon and Downhall Beach Estate get the same teams as West Mersea, a coastal town, plus further towns over CO postcodes. A postcode starting CO5 8 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
No towing is required, be it parked in the centre of West Mersea or in a layby heading to Mersea Island School Playing Field, and so keep it put. Our van empties it where it stands. Guessing won't help beside St Peter and St Paul, West Mersea, close to a county line or anywhere hard to describe; phone and ask.
Your scenario, in one line
Not run yet: keep it off and ring. Started already? Stop, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whichever case, across West Mersea and Essex, on 0333 366 0103.