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

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

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 trying to maintain pressure within the system.

Why? The well pressure tank, which contains water drawn from the well prior to use, has an issue. The precise issue depends on the type of water pressure tank.

Most likely it’s “waterlogging,” which happens in a bladder tank. These well pressure tanks, the most common model, hold water in a bladder within their metal shells. Surrounding air pushes on the balloon, keeping the water under pressure.

All is well until the bladder breaks … and the air pocket fills with water. Bye-bye, water pressure.

Homeowners in Granville, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank experts in Granville. 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 indication of a broken bladder. If the problem isn’t already serious, it soon will be.

Not all Granville 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 controlled volume 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 goes down. The pump cycles in a nonstop effort to provide more water to sustain required pressure, and keep the system working.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which annually. Commonly found 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 drops.

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

Granville residents: Tired of listening to your well pump run endlessly? 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.