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

“It seems like our well pump is running without a break.”

If this sounds like your water system, there’s a technical description 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 type, hold 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 ruptures … and the air pocket fills with water. Bye-bye, water pressure.

Homeowners in Oakland, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank experts in Oakland. 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 Oakland homes with well water systems have bladder tanks. Some use an air volume control tank, part of the well’s vertical in-ground pipe. The system uses bleeders, which allow a measured 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 start when these bleeders become plugged over time, reducing the starting water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system drops. The pump cycles in a nonstop effort to provide additional water to sustain sufficient 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 operates near-constantly to sustain pressure as the internal water level diminishes.

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

Oakland residents: Tired of hearing your well pump run constantly? Let Kelly James Service restore 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.