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

“It seems like our well pump is running without a break.”

If this sounds like your water system, there’s a technical term for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop running, than it starts up again. It’s desperately trying 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 exact issue depends on the type of water pressure tank.

Most likely it’s “waterlogging,” which occurs 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 springs a leak … and the air pocket fills with water. Bye-bye, water pressure.

Homeowners in Lake Mills, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Lake Mills. 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 serious, it soon will be.

Not all Lake Mills houses 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 uses bleeders, which allow a modulated volume of water into the pipe. The water creates an air pocket, which generates pressure when the pump cycles to push in additional water.

Problems begin when these bleeders become plugged over time, reducing the initial water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system falls. The pump cycles in a nonstop effort to provide more water to maintain required pressure, and keep the system going.

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. Usually used in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Like an air volume control tank, the well pump runs near-constantly to maintain pressure as the internal water level diminishes.

Galvanized and air volume control tanks can also suffer from mineral accumulations. These constrain water flow from the tank into the home. Low water pressure results. Again, replacement is the only workable option.

Lake Mills residents: Tired of listening to your well pump run constantly? Let Kelly James Service restore the peace – not to mention water pressure – that you expect. You’ll be amazed how short a time it takes them to stop your pump’s short-cycling.