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

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

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

Why? The well pressure tank, which holds water drawn from the well prior to use, has a problem. 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 breaks … and the air pocket fills with water. Bye-bye, water pressure.

Homeowners in Eagle, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Eagle. They’ll install 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 terminal, it soon will be.

Not all Eagle 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 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 ensue when these bleeders become plugged over time, lowering the starting water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system drops. The pump cycles in an endless effort to provide additional water to sustain adequate pressure, and keep the system operating.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which annually. Typically installed 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 goes down.

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 viable option.

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