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

Why? The well pressure tank, which holds 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 within 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 Elm Grove, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank experts in Elm Grove. 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 symptom of a broken bladder. If the problem isn’t already serious, it soon will be.

Not all Elm Grove 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 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 plugged over time, lowering the initial water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system drops. The pump cycles in an endless effort to provide more water to sustain sufficient pressure, and keep the system going.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which annually. Usually used in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Similar to 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 impede water flow from the tank into the home. Low water pressure results. Again, replacement is the only workable choice.

Elm Grove 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.