Who We Are

Mickey Bridges is the man behind Accusludge. He began his career at LA County Sanitation Agency.  As Southern California became more congested during that period, he began to seek employment elsewhere so he and his family could leave Los Angeles. In 1978 he accepted the maintenance supervisor position at Tahoe Truckee Sanitation Agency (at that time, said to be one of the most modern plants in the world.) He would go on to retire from TTSA and continue to keep Northern California as his home base. 

The idea of Accusludge came about while he was working at TTSA. He noticed a trend of operators coming to him with broken samplers in need of repair. He repaired broken samplers over and over until he decided on a solution to the problem. He would design and create something better. Something that was reliable. Something that didn’t break constantly.  

So the business of Accusludge was born. The first step was building a prototype and get it out for use. These prototypes were used at 3 wastewater plants: LA County, South Lake Tahoe, NV & Reno/Sparks, NV. The operations department at these plants used his samplers and provided him feedback. As a result of the feedback, he made necessary improvements as listed below:

  1. He would use Lexan Polycarbonate to make his samplers instead of a cheaper plastic. Lexan can withstand the wear and tear of everyday use. 

  2. His sampler would have a larger OD. He increased the size from 1 ⅛” 1 ¼”OD. Industry standard at that time was 1 ⅛”OD. This larger tube size allows the sampling of thicker sludges (thank you Hoot Cochran! RIP). It also adds rigidity. 

  3. Samplers would be assembled from 8’ sections instead of 5’ sections. This means less connections to make for assembly onsite. It also means less opportunities for the sampler to break at a coupling, adding strength. 

  4. Complete overhaul of check valve assembly. This would prove superior to other commonly used check valves. Although we have made design changes to the check valve over the years, the basic concept is the same as it was 40 years ago. 

At Accusluge, we remain committed to putting out a high quality product. We still hand make and package each of the samplers we ship. The best materials and hardware go into each unit we sell.  Buyers can feel confident about buying a product made right here in the USA.

The sampler has been used with success across a variety of other industries, including:

  • Waste water treatment 

  • Fresh water treatment

  • Food processing 

  • Petroleum refining 

  • Mineral extraction 

  • Brewing

  • Drum sampling 

  • Septic tank sampling

Really, it can be used in any setting where you need to collect a sample with solids around 5%.