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How a Bad Water Tank Causes Loss of Water Pressure or No Water InspectAPedia®  -     How Bad Water Pressure Tanks Can Cause Loss of Water Pressure or No Water at All How to diagnose loss of water pressure or loss of water in a building

This article describes Bad Water Pressure Tanks Can Cause Loss of Water Pressure or No Water at All - . The process of diagnosis and the costs of the repair are explained. Consumer advice on saving money on well repair costs includes a review of the parts and labor costs of a typical well pump and pressure tank replacement case.

If the building water supply stops and takes minutes to hours to recover, you may have problem with the well flow rate. But the problem of lost water supply and pressure could be more mechanical: a bad well pump.

The well pump, in turn, could have been damaged or hastened to the end of its life by a bad water pressure tank which has caused well pump short-cycling. Short cycling of the pump motor can burn up the pump relay control.

Readers of this document should see Water Pressure Tank Diagnosis (the next section of this article) and also see Water pressure tanks - how to diagnose the need for air, how to add air, stop water pump short cycling to avoid damage - water storage water pressure tank safety.

© 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

How a Bad Water Pressure Tank Can Cause Water Pressure Loss or Complete Water Supply Loss

1. Water tank short cycling: A bad or defective water pressure tank which has lost its air charge or which cannot keep its air charge will cause well pump short cycling - rapid turning on and off of the water pump. This frequent pump switching on and off is hard on the pump (damages the pump) and also on the pump switches and controls (switch contacts can become burned).

   Short cycling is especially risky with an older water pump, and might push it over the edge of failure. When the water pump fails the building will simply lose water pressure (and water supply) completely (unless it by luck the building is served by an artesian well).

2. Old water pumps may stop when hot: A water pump might be at end of its life and about to burn up but still work after a cool-down cycle.

   In other words when the pump has been working hard and the motor is hot the pump may stop running. Since the water pump may have been overheated due to short cycling, the actual root cause of its stopping may be the water tank (loss of air or a bad pump control) not the pump itself. After the pump has been off for a while it may magically start working again: some water pumps have an internal thermal overload switch that shuts them off combined with an automatic thermal switch reset.

   This is most likely to be found on water pumps that are inaccessible such as a submersible water pump. In this case water pressure and supply will stop completely but will return after the pump cools down. But this failure is likely to be recurrent.

3. More on short cycling, water tank air, and how to fix the problem:: To review loss of air charge, water pump short cycling, water pump pressure control settings, and other water tank repairs be sure to see WATER PUMP & WATER TANK REPAIRS
   
   
4. Water tank air bladder problems such as a burst bladder or one which has become collapsed and stuck to itself can also cause water pump short cycling and the loss of water pressure or flow shown above. Less common in our experience but possible is water tank inlet clogging due to a high level of sediment in the water supply, leading to similar symptoms.

   More often water sediment clogs the sensor of a water pressure regulator or it may clog a water filter, both of which lead to reduced water pressure and ultimately complete loss of water supply.

• See Water Pressure Tank Diagnosis to continue in diagnosis of apparent problems with water tanks.
  
  
• Our complete list of causes of loss of water pressure is discussed and water problems are diagnosed in detail at WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS where we review the all of the things that can cause loss of water pressure or loss of water entirely in a building.

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PLUMBING TOPICS
OIL TANKS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS
WATER PRESSURE REGULATOR ADJUST
WATER PRESSURE REPAIR GUIDE & COSTS
  Questions about lost water pressure
  Advice to a homeowner
  Adjusting Water Pump Pressure Control
  Right Repair to Pump & Tank?
  Well Pump & Tank Replacement Costs
WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE
WATER PRESSURE & FLOW MEASUREMENT
  Water Pressure Intermittent
  No Water Pressure
  Well Tank relation to Water Pressure
  Shaking the Water Tank?
  Water Pressure Tank Problems
  Water Pressure Tank Diagnosis
  Water pressure Later Returns "on its own"
  Water pipe clog diagnosis
  Water pipe clog repair guide
  Making the "right" repair
  Typical Water Tank & Pump Prices
  Typical Pressure Tank & Pump Prices
WATER PUMPS & WELL TANKS
WATER PUMP CONTROLS & SWITCHES
WATER PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER PUMP & TANK SAFETY
WATER SUPPLY & DRAIN PIPING
WATER TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL
WATER TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER TANK REPAIRS
WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADD
WATER TANK BLADDERS & CAPTIVE AIR
WATER TANK REPLACEMENT
WATER TANK BLADDER PRESSURE ADJUSTMENT
WATER TANK PRESSURE CALCULATIONS
WATER TANK SIZE & VOLUME
WATER TANKS HOW THEY WORK
WATER TESTING
WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT CHOICES
WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS
WELL, PUMP, TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY

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