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

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

If this resembles your water system, there’s a professional description for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop going, than it starts up again. 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 a problem. 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 type, store water in a bladder inside their metal shells. Surrounding air pushes 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 West Milwaukee, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank experts in West Milwaukee. 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 West Milwaukee residences 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 begin when these bleeders become blocked over time, reducing 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 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. Like an air volume control tank, the well pump runs near-constantly to sustain pressure as the internal water level diminishes.

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

West Milwaukee 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 need to stop your pump’s short-cycling.