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

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

If this sounds like your water system, there’s a professional term for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop running, than it starts up again. 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 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 model, hold 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 springs a leak … and the air pocket fills with water. Bye-bye, water pressure.

Homeowners in Willow Creek, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank experts in Willow Creek. 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 Willow Creek 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 modulated 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 begin when these bleeders become stopped up 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 sustain required pressure, and keep the system going.

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 maintain 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 workable option.

Willow Creek residents: Tired of hearing your well pump run constantly? Let Kelly James Service restore the peace – not to mention water pressure – that you appreciate. You’ll be amazed how short a time they require to stop your pump’s short-cycling.