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

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

If this sounds like your water system, there’s a technical description for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop going, than it starts up again. It’s desperately trying to sustain pressure within the system.

Why? The well pressure tank, which stores 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 type, hold water in a bladder within their metal shells. Surrounding air pushes on the balloon, keeping the water under pressure.

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

Homeowners in Oakland, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank experts in Oakland. 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 fatal, it soon will be.

Not all Oakland houses with well water systems have bladder tanks. Some use an air volume control tank, a component of the well’s vertical in-ground pipe. The system employs bleeders, which allow a measured 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 blocked over time, lowering the starting water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system falls. The pump cycles in a nonstop effort to provide additional water to maintain sufficient pressure, and keep the system operating.

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 installed in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Like an air volume control tank, the well pump operates near-constantly to maintain pressure as the internal water level goes down.

Galvanized and air volume control tanks can also be compromised by mineral accumulations. These impede water flow from the tank into the home. Low water pressure results. Again, replacement is the only viable option.

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