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 sounds like your water system, there’s a professional description for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop operating, 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 a problem. The exact 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 type, 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 Aurora, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Aurora. They’ll put in a new pressure tank the same day, and halt your well pump’s endless short-cycling.

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

Not all Aurora 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 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 additional water.

Problems start when these bleeders become blocked 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 additional water to sustain sufficient 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. Typically installed in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Like an air volume control tank, the well pump operates near-constantly to sustain pressure as the internal water level goes down.

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

Aurora residents: Tired of hearing your well pump run nonstop? 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.