The tank does more work than people realize, and most of what looks like a pump problem starts here.
A pressure tank is not just a holding container — it is what lets your well pump run in bursts instead of every time a faucet opens.
Inside the tank, a cushion of compressed air pushes against the water, holding pressure in the system between pump cycles. Without that air cushion, the pump would have to start and stop for every single use of water in the house, which would wear it out fast.
Over time a tank can lose its air charge — through a failed bladder, a slow leak, or simple age — and become waterlogged. A waterlogged tank can no longer hold that cushion, so the pump starts cycling on for a few seconds at a time, over and over, a pattern usually called short-cycling.
These are not the same fault. Short-cycling — frequent, brief on-off cycling — points at the tank or the switch. A pump running continuously and never satisfying pressure points somewhere else, often toward the pump's own performance or the well's supply. Telling these apart correctly changes what gets worked on first.
The switch reads tank pressure and tells the pump when to start and stop. It is a small, inexpensive part, and it fails often enough that a bad switch gets mistaken for a bad pump or a bad tank more than it should.
Short-cycling, a tank that feels waterlogged (heavier, less give when tapped), or a pressure gauge that swings widely between pump cycles are all reasons to have the tank and its air charge checked before assuming anything more expensive is wrong.
Describe the symptom and we will get you matched with a well or pump contractor who can actually look at it.
Get Matched With a Well ContractorA few details on when it started and what you've noticed — we will follow up to sort out what's actually going on.