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

“It seems like our well pump is operating without a break.”

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

Why? The well pressure tank, which contains 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 happens in a bladder tank. These well pressure tanks, the most common model, store 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 ruptures … and the air pocket fills with water. Bye-bye, water pressure.

Homeowners in Vernon, it’s time to replace the tank … which means a call to Kelly James Service, the well water pressure tank specialists in Vernon. 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 terminal, it soon will be.

Not all Vernon residences 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 controlled 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 plugged over time, lowering the initial water level in the pipe. With less water, pressure in the system goes down. The pump cycles in an endless effort to provide more water to sustain adequate pressure, and keep the system operating.

A third type of well water pressure tank is made of galvanized metal, which nessitates) that its internal air supply be manually replenished {each year. Typically used 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 accumulations. These impede water flow from the tank into the home. Low water pressure results. Again, replacement is the only viable option.

Vernon residents: Tired of listening to your well pump run nonstop? 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.