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

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

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

Why? The well pressure tank, which stores 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, hold 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 Germantown, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Germantown. They’ll install a new pressure tank the same day, and stop 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 Germantown 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 uses 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 additional water.

Problems start 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 more water to sustain adequate pressure, and keep the system operating.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which nessitates) that its internal air supply be manually replenished {each year. Usually installed in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Similar to an air volume control tank, the well pump runs near-constantly to sustain pressure as the internal water level goes down.

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

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