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

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

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

Why? The well pressure tank, which contains water drawn from the well prior to use, has a problem. The exact 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 Astico, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Astico. 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 serious, it soon will be.

Not all Astico homes 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 more water.

Problems start when these bleeders become blocked 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 additional water to sustain adequate pressure, and keep the system working.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which requires. 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 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 choice.

Astico residents: Tired of listening to 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 require to stop your pump’s short-cycling.