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

“It seems like our well pump is operating all the time.”

If this resembles your water system, there’s a technical term for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop running, than it starts up all over. It’s desperately trying to maintain pressure within the system.

Why? The well pressure tank, which holds 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 springs a leak … and the air pocket fills with water. Bye-bye, water pressure.

Homeowners in Wauwatosa, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Wauwatosa. They’ll put in 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 Wauwatosa homes 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 modulated amount of water into the pipe. The water creates an air pocket, which generates pressure when the pump cycles to push in additional water.

Problems start when these bleeders become plugged over time, lowering 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 requires. Typically used in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Similar to an air volume control tank, the well pump operates near-constantly to sustain pressure as the internal water level diminishes.

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

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