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 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 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 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 Bethesda, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Bethesda. 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 indication of a broken bladder. If the problem isn’t already serious, it soon will be.

Not all Bethesda residences 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 controlled volume of water into the pipe. The water creates an air pocket, which generates pressure when the pump cycles to push in more water.

Problems ensue when these bleeders become stopped up over time, lowering the initial water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system falls. The pump cycles in an endless effort to provide more water to sustain sufficient pressure, and keep the system functioning.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which annually. Usually used 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 diminishes.

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

Bethesda residents: Tired of hearing 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 need to stop your pump’s short-cycling.