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

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

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

Why? The well pressure tank, which contains 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, hold 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 Lake Five, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Lake Five. 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 fatal, it soon will be.

Not all Lake Five homes 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 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 ensue when these bleeders become blocked over time, lowering the initial water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system falls. The pump cycles in a nonstop effort to provide additional water to maintain sufficient pressure, and keep the system operating.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which requires. Typically found in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Like an air volume control tank, the well pump operates near-constantly to maintain pressure as the internal water level goes down.

Galvanized and air volume control tanks can also be compromised by mineral buildups. These restrict water flow from the tank into the home. Low water pressure results. Again, replacement is the only practical choice.

Lake Five 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 they need to stop your pump’s short-cycling.