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 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 again. It’s desperately trying 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 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 type, store 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 North Lake, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in North Lake. They’ll put in a new pressure tank the same day, and halt 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 terminal, it soon will be.

Not all North Lake homes 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 modulated 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 begin when these bleeders become plugged 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 operating.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which annually. 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 goes down.

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

North Lake residents: Tired of hearing your well pump run constantly? Let Kelly James Service restore the peace – not to mention water pressure – that you expect. You’ll be amazed how short a time it takes them to stop your pump’s short-cycling.