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

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

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 all over. It’s desperately working 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 type, hold water in a bladder within their metal shells. Surrounding air presses 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 Edgewood, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Edgewood. They’ll put in a new pressure tank the same day, and stop 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 fatal, it soon will be.

Not all Edgewood 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 amount of water into the pipe. The water creates an air pocket, which generates pressure when the pump cycles to push in more water.

Problems start when these bleeders become plugged over time, reducing the initial water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system falls. The pump cycles in an endless effort to provide additional water to sustain sufficient pressure, and keep the system going.

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. Typically used 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 drops.

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 viable choice.

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