Well Pump Keeps Running? No Pressure – but it’s Probably Your Well Pressure Tank

“It seems like our well pump is running constantly.”

If this resembles your water system, there’s a professional description for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop running, than it starts up again. It’s desperately working to sustain pressure within the system.

Why? The well pressure tank, which contains water drawn from the well prior to use, has an issue. The precise issue depends on the type of water pressure tank.

Most likely it’s “waterlogging,” which happens in a bladder tank. These well pressure tanks, the most common model, store water in a bladder within their metal shells. Surrounding air presses on the balloon, keeping the water under pressure.

All is well until the bladder ruptures … and the air pocket fills with water. Bye-bye, water pressure.

Homeowners in Oak Hill, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Oak Hill. They’ll install a new pressure tank the same day, and stop your well pump’s endless short-cycling.

Air spitting from faucets? It’s another symptom of a broken bladder. If the problem isn’t already terminal, it soon will be.

Not all Oak Hill homes with well water systems have bladder tanks. Some use an air volume control tank, part of the well’s vertical in-ground pipe. The system employs bleeders, which allow a measured amount of water into the pipe. The water creates an air pocket, which generates pressure when the pump cycles to push in more water.

Problems start when these bleeders become plugged over time, lowering the starting water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system goes down. The pump cycles in an endless effort to provide additional water to maintain adequate pressure, and keep the system functioning.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which nessitates) that its internal air supply be manually replenished {each year. Commonly found in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Similar to an air volume control tank, the well pump runs near-constantly to sustain pressure as the internal water level drops.

Galvanized and air volume control tanks can also be compromised by mineral buildups. These restrict water flow from the tank into the home. Low water pressure results. Again, replacement is the only practical choice.

Oak Hill residents: Tired of hearing your well pump run endlessly? Let Kelly James Service bring back the peace – not to mention water pressure – that you expect. You’ll be amazed how short a time they need to stop your pump’s short-cycling.