AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Whaley Thorns: How It Happens and How to Prevent It
Pause reading for a moment if the diesel tank already has AdBlue in it: ignition off, engine off, then ring 0333 366 0103. Usually, when your motor hasn't run, it is emptied and fully purged where the vehicle sits in Whaley Thorns. The rest of this page explains why it takes place and how to make sure it doesn't — useful if you're reading before it has happened.
AdBlue in a diesel motor, and its separate tank
Diesel feeds your motor — but many newer diesels seen round Whaley Thorns and Langwith hold another fluid too. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
There is a filler on every tank. Many of motors have a single flap for both, whereas others put the AdBlue filler to your boot or under the bonnet. At the pump, your diesel side is topped up constantly. Much less regularly, the AdBlue side is topped up — normally from a bottle, by a person working out where it goes. That gap is where the error lives.
AdBlue in the diesel tank in Whaley Thorns: how it takes place
It is seldom carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
Haste comes from the warning. The car warns you as AdBlue runs low, and a dry tank puts the vehicle into limp mode — so the top-up gets done in a rush, before work on a drive off Church Street, or heading home in the car park outside Jug and Glass.
Then, your hand goes for the cap it would have used on the old car — since a rental car, a new vehicle or a company car puts the fillers where your last one didn't.
Nothing halts the pour after it has started, since a bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one. The bottle fits. The same few seconds settle it, in the middle of Whaley Thorns or out in Nether Langwith.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Look at these first, at a forecourt in Whaley Thorns or a drive out in Langwith Junction. A few seconds, no more.
- Colour and lettering: an AdBlue cap is often blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap normally does not. Go by the cap, not where it sits.
- Look at the size: the smaller filler neck is, on plenty of cars, the AdBlue one.
- Check inside your fuel flap: plenty of motors have a label there showing which fuel goes where.
- In your boot or under the bonnet: that is where your filler is if it's not by the diesel cap, and the handbook tells you which.
- Check with the person who drove it last — before you leave, not when the light comes on — if you collect a hire or company car from somewhere like the car park at Langwith - Whaley Thorns.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach the diesel tank
On the day the light comes on — anywhere you are in Derbyshire — a simple routine to follow.
- Park and switch off. Not on a slope, not with your motor running, and not in a rush on the side of French Terrace.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, after you find the AdBlue filler and read it. Silly, perhaps, yet it does the trick.
- Leave your diesel cap on. If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle.
- Stop once your tank is topped up or the bottle is empty; before that, pour slowly through its built-in spout.
- Only after that, start your car: close the cap, check once more, and make sure your diesel cap was never opened.
Stop there if you find, at step two or three, that you've already poured into the diesel side. Don't go on to stage five.
AdBlue in the diesel tank already, around Whaley Thorns?
Then the order of things is short. Do not start your engine. Don't switch your ignition on; on many diesels that alone runs the fuel pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where the fuel is sucked from — so do not top up with diesel to dilute it.
At a forecourt — JET, Welbeck Service Station or another — the staff will usually help roll your car clear, when you ask. On your own drive around Whaley Thorns? So your car remains where it is.
If your motor has already run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. Whaley Thorns lies under 5 miles from the M1; on it, take the first junction. Distance matters — a short hop across Whaley Thorns is a smaller job than heading under 25 miles to Sheffield — so say roughly how far it went.
When our engineers arrive around Whaley Thorns, what takes place?
We come to the car wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Whaley Thorns Primary School, close to Langwith Whaley Thorns Heritage Centre or on your own driveway. What fluid got in, the amount, and if it ran: our engineers ask because those answers set the work and price. During the call itself, you hear the quote — ahead of dispatch.
Then that tank is emptied and the system purged thoroughly. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't wash out on its own — which is why the flush matters more with AdBlue than with petrol. The filter cleaned or, if it must be, replaced; fresh diesel in; then a check of your vehicle. Your engine is started next and tested to make sure it runs smoothly, all before our technicians head off.
If the motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there, using pumps that are safe on a working forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house after dark. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Whaley Thorns and where it is
Whaley Thorns is a village in Derbyshire, situated on the riverside at an elevation of 84 metres, with terraced housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Whaley Thorns lies near several other small settlements, including Nether Langwith, Whaley, and Upper Langwith, and is approximately 15 miles from the city of Sheffield. Whaley Thorns has a population of around 1140 residents, who live in a relatively small and close-knit community. Whaley Thorns is also within reasonable distance of major cities, being around 127 miles from London.
AdBlue drains round Whaley Thorns, and Derbyshire beyond
Throughout NG postcodes, the teams covering Whaley Thorns — a village — work the nearby spots too, Upper Langwith and Whaley included. Give a postcode that starts NG20 9, and the van arrives fastest.
No need to move the car. Anywhere it stands — beside Whaley Thorns & Langwith Village Hall, in a layby heading to Poulter Country Park, on a drive — that is where it is emptied. If you're near a border, or somewhere hard to describe like the back of St Luke, ring and ask rather than guessing.
For Whaley Thorns drivers, the short version
Before you tip, read the cap. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, anywhere in Derbyshire, if AdBlue has gone in your diesel tank all the same — so leave the vehicle off then ring 0333 366 0103.