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

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

If this resembles your water system, there’s a professional term for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop operating, 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 precise 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, 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 Bethesda, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Bethesda. 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 terminal, it soon will be.

Not all Bethesda 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 employs 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 ensue when these bleeders become stopped up over time, lowering the starting water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system goes down. The pump cycles in a nonstop effort to provide additional water to maintain required pressure, and keep the system functioning.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which requires. Typically installed 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 suffer from mineral buildups. These constrain water flow from the tank into the home. Low water pressure results. Again, replacement is the only viable option.

Bethesda 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.