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 professional term for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop running, than it starts up all over. It’s desperately working 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 happens in a bladder tank. These well pressure tanks, the most common type, hold water in a bladder within their metal shells. Surrounding air pushes 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 Summit Corners, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Summit Corners. They’ll put in 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 Summit Corners 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 controlled 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, lowering the initial water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system drops. The pump cycles in a nonstop effort to provide more water to maintain required pressure, and keep the system operating.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which annually. Typically used in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Similar to an air volume control tank, the well pump runs near-constantly to sustain pressure as the internal water level diminishes.

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

Summit Corners residents: Tired of hearing your well pump run endlessly? Let Kelly James Service restore the peace – not to mention water pressure – that you appreciate. You’ll be amazed how short a time it takes them to stop your pump’s short-cycling.