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

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

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

Why? The well pressure tank, which holds 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 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 springs a leak … and the air pocket fills with water. Bye-bye, water pressure.

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

Not all Plat 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 controlled 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 start when these bleeders become stopped up over time, reducing 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 required pressure, and keep the system functioning.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which annually. Usually 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 goes down.

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 workable choice.

Plat residents: Tired of listening to your well pump run nonstop? 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.