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

“It seems like our well pump is running 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 going, than it starts up again. It’s desperately trying to maintain pressure within the system.

Why? The well pressure tank, which holds water drawn from the well prior to use, has a problem. 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 Prospect, it’s time to replace the tank … which necessitates a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Prospect. 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 terminal, it soon will be.

Not all Prospect 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 employs bleeders, which allow a measured 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 blocked over time, lowering the starting water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system drops. The pump cycles in a nonstop 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 requires. Typically used in older homes, these tanks eventually leak. Similar to an air volume control tank, the well pump operates near-constantly to maintain pressure as the internal water level diminishes.

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 workable choice.

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