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

“It seems like our well pump is operating all the time.”

If this sounds like your water system, there’s a professional description for it: “short cycling.” No sooner does the pump stop operating, than it starts up again. 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 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 North Prairie, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank experts in North Prairie. 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 symptom of a broken bladder. If the problem isn’t already fatal, it soon will be.

Not all North Prairie houses 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 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 additional water.

Problems begin 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 more water to maintain sufficient pressure, and keep the system functioning.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which annually. Commonly installed in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Like an air volume control tank, the well pump operates near-constantly to sustain pressure as the internal water level drops.

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

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