Well Pump & Pressure Tank Service in Greeley, CO

That’s short cycling, and the usual culprit is the pressure tank rather than the pump. A pressure tank holds a cushion of air that stores water under pressure so small draws don’t start the pump. When the bladder fails or the air charge is lost, the tank becomes a plain vessel of water with almost no storage capacity, so the pump starts and stops every few seconds. It’s the most common well fault we see and one of the most damaging: rapid cycling destroys pumps, pressure switches and motor contacts quickly.

Tap the side. A healthy bladder tank sounds hollow above the water line and solid below, with a clear transition. If it sounds full of water all the way up, the bladder has likely failed. Then check the air charge at the valve on top with the system depressurized; it should be a couple of psi below the pump’s cut-in pressure. Water coming out of that air valve is a definitive failed bladder. It’s a straightforward replacement and a very worthwhile one.

Check the obvious in order. Is the breaker for the pump on, and if it tripped, don’t simply keep resetting it, because it tripped for a reason. Is the pressure switch reading anything at all. Is there any water in the pressure tank. If the pump runs but delivers nothing, possibilities include a dropped water level in the well, a failed check valve, a broken drop pipe, or air locking. If the pump doesn’t run at all, it’s electrical, the switch, the control box, or the pump itself. Either way, stop cycling it and call.

A submersible pump in reasonable conditions typically runs somewhere in the range of eight to fifteen years, and the main variable isn’t age, it’s cycle count and water quality. A pump paired with a failed pressure tank can wear out in a fraction of that, because it starts thousands of times more often than it should. Sediment and sand are the other big factor, abrading impellers and seals. Which makes tank health the cheapest way to extend pump life.

It’s the component that senses system pressure and tells the pump to start and stop. Failures come from contacts pitted by arcing over thousands of cycles, from sediment or insects blocking the small sensing port, or from corrosion in the housing. It’s an inexpensive part and a common cause of “no water” or of a pump that runs continuously without shutting off. Because it involves line voltage and a pressurized system, it isn’t a comfortable homeowner repair.

It’s worth investigating promptly. Sand can mean a failing well screen, a dropping water level drawing the pump closer to the bottom of the well, or a pump that has shifted position. Beyond staining fixtures and clogging aerators, abrasive sediment wears pump components and fouls any treatment equipment downstream. A sudden change in what comes out of the tap: sand, cloudiness, color, smell, is a signal from the well and merits both a test and a look at the system.

Yes, because nobody else is doing it. Annual testing for bacteria and nitrates is a common recommendation, with a broader analysis periodically and specifically after any of these: well work or pump replacement, flooding or heavy runoff nearby, a long period with the property unoccupied, or any noticeable change in taste, smell or appearance. In agricultural areas nitrates deserve particular attention. Test results are also what any treatment equipment should be specified from.

The pump itself sits deep and stays well below frost, but everything between the wellhead and the house is exposed. Pressure tanks in unheated well houses or outbuildings, the pitless adapter area, exposed piping and the wellhead itself are all vulnerable in a Weld County cold snap. Insulating the well house, keeping a safe heat source where appropriate, and making sure any above-ground piping is properly insulated is autumn work worth doing before the first hard freeze.

Steady low pressure suggests the system is working but delivering less than it should, which points at the pressure switch settings, a pump losing performance, a clogged filter or screen, a partially closed valve, or a well whose yield has declined. That last one matters most: a dropping static level or reduced recovery rate is a well problem rather than an equipment problem, and it changes the conversation entirely. Measuring pressure at the tank and at fixtures locates the restriction quickly.

Partly, and the boundary is worth knowing. The pressure tank, pressure switch, piping from the wellhead into the house, treatment equipment and everything downstream is plumbing work. The well itself: drilling, casing, well screens, deepening, and often the submersible pump and its drop pipe: is well contractor territory in Colorado, with its own permitting and reporting requirements. A good local plumber knows exactly where that line sits and who to bring in. Colorado’s Division of Water Resources holds the permit record for your well, which is where to start if you are unsure what has already been done to it.