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

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

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 all over. It’s desperately working to maintain pressure within the system.

Why? The well pressure tank, which holds 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 within 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 Portland, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank experts in Portland. 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 terminal, it soon will be.

Not all Portland 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 more water.

Problems ensue when these bleeders become stopped up over time, lowering the starting water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system falls. The pump cycles in a nonstop effort to provide additional water to sustain required pressure, and keep the system functioning.

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

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

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