3 Causes of a Well Pump That Won’t Stop Running

Many homeowners choose to install a residential well as a way to get a cleaner, more reliable water source. Others utilize wells because they live too far from municipal water supplies. Regardless of why your home uses well water, nothing could be more important than ensuring your well system remains in good working order.

One of the most commonly experienced well problems involves a well pump that has begun to run around the clock. This problem will not only drive up your electricity bill, but it will ultimately cause the pump to overheat and burnout. If you would like to learn more about what causes this issue, read on. This article will discuss three common causes of a well pump that won't stop running.

1. Open Fixtures

Begin by ruling out the simplest explanations for a constantly running well pump. As embarrassing as it may be, this problem often stems from a plumbing fixture that has been left open. Always be sure to check that no faucets or taps in your house are running. Also check water-using appliances like washing machines, dishwashers, and hot water heaters.

Electrical malfunctions or physical obstructions can often cause such appliances to become stuck in a position that allows water to keep flowing. Also take a look at all of your outdoor water sources. Running garden hoses and sprinkler heads are two easily overlooked causes of a well pump running nonstop.

2. Leaking Drop Pipe

Your well pump provides the necessary power to pull water up out of your well and then to distribute it with adequate pressure throughout your home. Water comes up from the well through a drop pipe, flowing into your system's pressure tank. Ideally, once the water in the pressure tank has reached a certain pressure threshold, the pump will shut down.

As water flows out of the pressure tank, its pressure will drop. When it reaches a lower threshold, this will trigger the pump to come back on. Yet if the pressure in your tank never exceeds that lower threshold to begin with, the pump will never stop running in the first place. The most common cause of this scenario is holes in the drop pipe coming up from the well.

Such holes will allow water to escape outside of the well system. A certain proportion of the water will still make it up into the pressure tank — but not enough to cause the pump to shut down. As the holes grow larger, the water pressure in your home will gradually taper off. Eventually, your pump will be running nonstop, yet no water will come out of your fixtures.

This problem tends to occur more frequently for those with older drop pipes made from galvanized steel. These pipes often succumb to corrosion as time goes on, resulting in the formation of tiny holes that grow worse with time. The solution to this problem generally involves replacing galvanized pipes with leakproof PVC piping.

3. Incorrect Pressure Control Switch Setting

As discussed above, the pump's operation is governed by means of a pressure control switch inside the pressure tank. This switch provides the pump with information about when to turn on and off. Oftentimes, a continuously running pump ties back to a control switch that has been set incorrectly.

The specific issue here involves a switch with an exceedingly high setting. Known as the cut-out setting, this setting tells the pump when the ideal pressure has been reached — in other words, when it can turn off. Yet if the cut-out setting exceeds the capacity of the pump, it will never send the stop signal to the pump.

If you believe that your pump may be suffering from any of the problems discussed above, it's important you have the issue checked out as soon as possible. For more information, please don't hesitate to contact the well pump experts at Walters Environmental Services.