Top Head Repair Keeps Family Legacy Running

Robbins Water Service, located in Shamong, New Jersey, has been in business since 1910. John Robbins, current president and drilling supervisor, spends his days out in the field carrying on his family’s legacy.

“We’re a family owned and operated business with eight family members employed currently. My son and nephews represent the fifth generation of the company,” Robbins said. “We do residential water wells, commercial, geothermal, agricultural, and irrigation wells. We also service existing wells and install water treatment systems.”

A Family’s Legacy Rigs

The crew operates two legacy rigs, a DM450 and a DM350 — both more than a decade old and still running strong. When the hydraulic cylinder running the DM350’s top head began leaking oil, Robbins turned to the Geoprobe® East Coast Service Center (ECSC).

“We handle a lot of routine maintenance and small repairs in house, but this was something we felt more comfortable having Dave [Harrison, ECSC service lead] and the team in Oxford take care of,” Robbins said.

Top Head Trouble Calls for Expert Help

While Robbins Water Service has ordered parts from the ECSC and had Harrison do an on-site repair before, it was their first time bringing a rig to the ECSC’s shop.

“The really nice thing about the way Dave handled it was he set a week aside and planned for our rig to come in. It made our downtime a lot easier,” Robbins said. “We brought in the rig that week and the ECSC team was ready to work on it. We got it back in a relatively short time period — it was only a week or two.”

Until Next Time

Robbins and his team haven’t had any issues with the DM350 since its “much-needed repair” (photo at left). Not only is he grateful for the ECSC repairing his rig, but for the help provided throughout the years.

“Years ago, getting parts and trying to get certain things fixed on the rig was a challenge,” Robbins said. “But things have gotten much better in the last five years or so since Geoprobe® took over the ECSC.”

Robbins says he’s worked with other “really talented” fabricators and mechanics in the area. However, he’s never worked with a shop focused on drill rigs – until now.

“We absolutely see ourselves coming back. When certain components break on it that we’re not as comfortable repairing, that’s where we’ll go,” Robbins said.