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 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 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 Oak Knoll, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Oak Knoll. 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 terminal, it soon will be.

Not all Oak Knoll residences 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 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 ensue when these bleeders become stopped up over time, reducing the initial water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system drops. The pump cycles in an endless effort to provide more 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. Usually used in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Similar to 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 be compromised by mineral accumulations. These constrain water flow from the tank into the home. Low water pressure results. Again, replacement is the only workable choice.

Oak Knoll residents: Tired of hearing your well pump run constantly? Let Kelly James Service bring back 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.