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

“It seems like our well pump is running all the time.”

If this sounds like your water system, there’s a professional description for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop running, than it starts up all over. It’s desperately trying to sustain pressure within the system.

Why? The well pressure tank, which contains water drawn from the well prior to use, has an issue. The exact 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 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 springs a leak … and the air pocket fills with water. Bye-bye, water pressure.

Homeowners in Saint Martins, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Saint Martins. 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 serious, it soon will be.

Not all Saint Martins 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 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 more water.

Problems ensue when these bleeders become blocked over time, reducing 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 maintain adequate pressure, and keep the system working.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which annually. Commonly used in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Like 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 be compromised by mineral accumulations. These impede water flow from the tank into the home. Low water pressure results. Again, replacement is the only workable option.

Saint Martins residents: Tired of listening to your well pump run nonstop? Let Kelly James Service bring back the peace – not to mention water pressure – that you appreciate. You’ll be amazed how short a time it takes them to stop your pump’s short-cycling.