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

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

If this sounds like your water system, there’s a technical description for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop running, than it starts up again. It’s desperately trying 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 model, store 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 Saint Francis, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank experts in Saint Francis. 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 indication of a broken bladder. If the problem isn’t already fatal, it soon will be.

Not all Saint Francis 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 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 begin when these bleeders become plugged over time, lowering the initial water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system falls. The pump cycles in a nonstop effort to provide more water to maintain sufficient pressure, and keep the system operating.

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

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

Saint Francis residents: Tired of listening to your well pump run constantly? Let Kelly James Service bring back 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.