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 description 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 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 model, hold water in a bladder inside 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 Guthrie, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Guthrie. 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 serious, it soon will be.

Not all Guthrie 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 controlled 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, reducing 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 maintain sufficient pressure, and keep the system operating.

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 runs near-constantly to maintain pressure as the internal water level drops.

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 viable option.

Guthrie residents: Tired of hearing your well pump run constantly? Let Kelly James Service restore 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.