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

“It seems like our well pump is going constantly.”

If this sounds like your water system, there’s a technical term for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop operating, than it starts up again. 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, hold water in a bladder inside their metal shells. Surrounding air pushes 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 Old Lebanon, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Old Lebanon. They’ll install 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 terminal, it soon will be.

Not all Old Lebanon houses 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 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 ensue 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 a nonstop effort to provide more water to sustain required pressure, and keep the system operating.

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. Typically used 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 diminishes.

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

Old Lebanon residents: Tired of listening to your well pump run nonstop? Let Kelly James Service restore the peace – not to mention water pressure – that you appreciate. You’ll be amazed how short a time they require to stop your pump’s short-cycling.