Hydraulic Hoses Plus More Revives High-Hour 7822DT

Dearal Rodgers, owner of Elite Techniques Inc. has been a part of the drilling industry for the past 28 years. Since the beginning, he’s been working with Geoprobe^® rigs.

“There was a call for a Geoprobe^® operator posted on my college billboard. I interviewed on April Fool’s Day and worked there for 15 years. Back then, a 5400 was the only option, so I ran one of those,” Rodgers said. “Then I started Elite Techniques around 2012, and we began doing environmental and geotechnical work.”

Based in South Carolina, Elite Techniques Inc. focuses on the geotechnical and water well industry for property development. Their four rig fleet includes a 2015 7822DT — one that has clocked 7,000 hours during the last decade. However, its age was beginning to show.

“Our machine began to have some issues underneath with hydraulic hoses, so it would cut off for no apparent reasons. It would overheat, it had a busted hood, some of it was no longer working,” Rodgers said.

Another Avenue

Initially, Rodgers was looking into replacing his 7822DT. But he soon learned of another option from the North Carolina Service Center (NCSC).

“I called to get a quote on a new machine. Todd [Courbot, NCSC manager] called me back and let me know that we could come in to get the 7822DT repaired, hear about our issues, and provide a quote. Me and my wife pray about these things, and we felt that was the way to go for us,” Rodgers said.

Stress-Free Service: Hydraulic Hoses and More

More important to him than having the rig look nice, Rodgers needed the rig to be reliable.

“If I send a guy out to drill and it breaks, then it’s a terrible morale killer,” he said. “It makes them get home later, and it’s more dangerous to be underneath the machine. So, it was important to make the equipment run better.”

Rodgers brought his rig into the NCSC and gave them the liberty to work on any issues they came across.

“Todd would give me an update every week and send me pictures on how things were going and how the quote was changing,” Rodgers said. “We had to work things out with the bank, and they gave us plenty of time to work with that. It was relatively stress free. It went by fast, and it was a great experience.”

7822DT Repair List

• new undercarriage hydraulic hoses installed
• dented hood replaced
• hydraulic pump replaced
• Gh63 rebuilt
• auto drop hammer bushings, foot slides, trunnions replaced
• hydraulic, engine, final drive service

History of Trust

It took four weeks for Rodgers to get his 7822DT repaired. Aside from a couple of small kinks, Rodgers has been satisfied with his “new” old rig and the help he’s received.

“I’ve been doing this for almost 28 years, and I’ve dealt with the guys over at Geoprobe^® since I first got here. They’re very trustworthy, they’re always going to do what they say they’re going to do, and they’re knowledgeable,” Rodgers said. “Although they’ve grown, they’ve kept that small town feel where we can still call and talk to someone we trust, and that’s important to me. We know we can trust them, and Todd proved it once again.”