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

“It seems like our well pump is operating all the time.”

If this resembles 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 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 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, hold 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 springs a leak … and the air pocket fills with water. Bye-bye, water pressure.

Homeowners in LeRoy, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank experts in LeRoy. They’ll put in a new pressure tank the same day, and halt 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 LeRoy 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 uses bleeders, which allow a modulated 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 plugged over time, lowering 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 maintain sufficient pressure, and keep the system going.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which requires. Usually installed in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Similar to an air volume control tank, the well pump operates near-constantly to maintain pressure as the internal water level goes down.

Galvanized and air volume control tanks can also suffer from mineral buildups. These restrict water flow from the tank into the home. Low water pressure results. Again, replacement is the only practical choice.

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