My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't
grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or
is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
tone this thing up a bit?
Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.

Goomba wrote:

> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't
> grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or
> is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
> tone this thing up a bit?
> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.

Most have a screw on the bottom. Try tightening it. As
the thing wears out tightening may no longer fix it.

On the better models said screw can also be used to adjust the
grind, i.e. tighter = finer grind, looser = chunkier.

Here is the last brand I bought and I think very highly
of them. Adjustable and very durable:

<http://www.unicornmills.com/

--
Mort

Goomba wrote on Sun, 20 Jun 2010 10:38:38 -0400:

> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just
> isn't grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has
> dulled or is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder
> correctly. Any maintenance ideas out there that
> I should know about or could try to tone this thing up a bit?
> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me
> before.

Peugeots are good! Mine is more than 30 years old and still working
well. Apart from sentiment, I shall invest in a new one when mine ceases
to work well.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Jun 20, 7:38*am, Goomba > wrote:
> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't
> grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or
> is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
> * tone this thing up a bit?
> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.

You only ever turn it clockwise, correct?

spamtrap1888 wrote:
> On Jun 20, 7:38 am, Goomba > wrote:
>> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't
>> grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or
>> is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
>> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
>> tone this thing up a bit?
>> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.
>
> You only ever turn it clockwise, correct?

Now that its not performing well, clockwise/counter-clockwise turning is
the only way it seems to perform. And that is just minimally.
Are they really only supposed to go clockwise? I dunno if I ever knew that?

"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't grinding
> the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or is
> slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
> tone this thing up a bit?
> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.
>

I'd check and see if it has a lifetime warranty, and even if it doesn't
perhaps Peugeot would fix/replace it anyway. I recently emailed Olde
Thompson about a 15+ year old pepper mill of mine that had rusted and they
replaced the entire mill for free! I certainly wasn't expecting that!

Jinx

Goomba wrote:

> spamtrap1888 wrote:
>> On Jun 20, 7:38 am, Goomba > wrote:
>>> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't
>>> grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or
>>> is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
>>> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
>>> tone this thing up a bit?
>>> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me
>>> before.
>>
>> You only ever turn it clockwise, correct?
>
> Now that its not performing well, clockwise/counter-clockwise turning is
> the only way it seems to perform. And that is just minimally.
> Are they really only supposed to go clockwise? I dunno if I ever knew that?

Clockwise should tighten it. If it won't tighten anymore you could
have a stripped screw on your hands in which case I'd replace it.

--
Mort

"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
> spamtrap1888 wrote:
>> On Jun 20, 7:38 am, Goomba > wrote:
>>> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't
>>> grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or
>>> is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
>>> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
>>> tone this thing up a bit?
>>> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.
>>>
>>
>> You only ever turn it clockwise, correct?
>
> Now that its not performing well, clockwise/counter-clockwise turning is
> the only way it seems to perform. And that is just minimally.
> Are they really only supposed to go clockwise? I dunno if I ever knew
> that?

I can't say for sure about your Peugeot, but my Wm. Bounds mill is designed
to go both directions: one for a coarser grind and the other for a finer
grind. My Olde Thompson, on the other hand, is clockwise.

Jinx

Goomba wrote:
> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't
> grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or
> is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
> tone this thing up a bit?
> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.


Try tipping upside down, tapping it on the counter to get bits of pepper
out of the grinding mechanism and then tightening it. I used to have
trouble getting my pepper mill t o grind fine enough until I came upon
that solution. Bits of peppercorn inside will prevent it from
tightening enough.

"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't grinding
> the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or is
> slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
> tone this thing up a bit?
> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.
>

After throwing away yet another pepper mill I got myself one of those brass
Turkish coffee grinders. 20 years later and it is still going strong.

Paul

On Jun 20, 9:38*am, Goomba > wrote:
> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't
> grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or
> is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
> * tone this thing up a bit?
> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.

Mine got all clogged up with peppercorns on the "fine" grind
setting,so I shifted to the "coarse" setting. I go through a lot more
peppercorns now, but it does not get jammed up.

I'm sure there's a lifespan, and a variance between individual mills
too, cause I bought my bunny an identical mill as mine, and his ground
out a lot more pepper from the get-go than mine ever did.

John Kuthe...

"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
> spamtrap1888 wrote:
>> On Jun 20, 7:38 am, Goomba > wrote:
>>> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't
>>> grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or
>>> is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
>>> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
>>> tone this thing up a bit?
>>> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.
>>>
>>
>> You only ever turn it clockwise, correct?
>
> Now that its not performing well, clockwise/counter-clockwise turning is
> the only way it seems to perform. And that is just minimally.
> Are they really only supposed to go clockwise? I dunno if I ever knew
> that?

Always turn a Peugeot clockwise! The upper part of the mechanism is spiral
cut to pull the peppercorns down and coarse-crush them before they go into
the final grind. Turning it the other way can result in the fine teeth
grinding each other instead of pepper.
The Peugeot is a very fine piece of equipment and should last a lifetime.
Graham

Goomba wrote:
>
> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't
> grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or
> is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
> tone this thing up a bit?
> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.

Take it apart (noting the order of the parts). Remove the bottom
mechanism/blade and give it a good clean (wet or dry). Clean the inside
of the grinder too and the threads of the top assembly screw. Reassemble
carefully. We do this with the pepper, salt and nutmeg grinders.

On Sun, 20 Jun 2010 12:39:27 -0600, "graham" > wrote:

>
>"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
>> spamtrap1888 wrote:
>>> On Jun 20, 7:38 am, Goomba > wrote:
>>>> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't
>>>> grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or
>>>> is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
>>>> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
>>>> tone this thing up a bit?
>>>> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.
>>>>
>>>
>>> You only ever turn it clockwise, correct?
>>
>> Now that its not performing well, clockwise/counter-clockwise turning is
>> the only way it seems to perform. And that is just minimally.
>> Are they really only supposed to go clockwise? I dunno if I ever knew
>> that?
>
>Always turn a Peugeot clockwise! The upper part of the mechanism is spiral
>cut to pull the peppercorns down and coarse-crush them before they go into
>the final grind. Turning it the other way can result in the fine teeth
>grinding each other instead of pepper.
>The Peugeot is a very fine piece of equipment and should last a lifetime.
>Graham
>

Peugeot must make mills of various quality grades.
A few years ago, one of the local kitchen stores had a substantial
price reduction on Peugeot mills, both pepper and salt. We jumped at
the chance to buy a set for ourselves and a set for each of our
children.
I have to say, they look impressive but, given their reputation for
quality, I'm disappointed in their performance. The salt mills work
fine but the pepper mills leave a lot to be desired.
For well over thirty years we've had a little Maddison pepper mill,
made in England, that will grind circles around the Peugeot.
Maybe the Peugeot were on sale for a reason.

Ross.

<Ross> wrote in message ...
> On Sun, 20 Jun 2010 12:39:27 -0600, "graham" > wrote:
>
>>
>>"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
>>> spamtrap1888 wrote:
>>>> On Jun 20, 7:38 am, Goomba > wrote:
>>>>> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't
>>>>> grinding the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled
>>>>> or
>>>>> is slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
>>>>> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try
>>>>> to
>>>>> tone this thing up a bit?
>>>>> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me
>>>>> before.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> You only ever turn it clockwise, correct?
>>>
>>> Now that its not performing well, clockwise/counter-clockwise turning is
>>> the only way it seems to perform. And that is just minimally.
>>> Are they really only supposed to go clockwise? I dunno if I ever knew
>>> that?
>>
>>Always turn a Peugeot clockwise! The upper part of the mechanism is
>>spiral
>>cut to pull the peppercorns down and coarse-crush them before they go into
>>the final grind. Turning it the other way can result in the fine teeth
>>grinding each other instead of pepper.
>>The Peugeot is a very fine piece of equipment and should last a lifetime.
>>Graham
>>
>
> Peugeot must make mills of various quality grades.
> A few years ago, one of the local kitchen stores had a substantial
> price reduction on Peugeot mills, both pepper and salt. We jumped at
> the chance to buy a set for ourselves and a set for each of our
> children.
> I have to say, they look impressive but, given their reputation for
> quality, I'm disappointed in their performance. The salt mills work
> fine but the pepper mills leave a lot to be desired.
> For well over thirty years we've had a little Maddison pepper mill,
> made in England, that will grind circles around the Peugeot.
> Maybe the Peugeot were on sale for a reason.
>
There are other mechanisms that equal Peugeot. For example, I used some
Danish ones to make some mills a few years ago but when I went to buy more,
the supplier had switched to a cheaper and inferior brand. I've come
accross some Italian ones that are absolutely superb!
Graham

In article >,
Goomba > wrote:

> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky
(snip)
> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.

Mine's still doing the job after 43 years of regular use.


--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
On June 25, celebrating 65 years of annoying people.
Shop early and shop often. Good gin and cheap chocolate preferred.
Or cash. :-)

"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky. It just isn't grinding
> the pepper up very well lately. It feels as if it has dulled or is
> slipping and not catching the peppercorns in the grinder correctly.
> Any maintenance ideas out there that I should know about or could try to
> tone this thing up a bit?
> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.
>

Empty out. Wash out. Let dry a couple of days-may be a bit of humidity in
it.

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In article >,
> Goomba > wrote:
>
>> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky
> (snip)
>> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.
>
> Mine's still doing the job after 43 years of regular use.
>
>
Thank goodness. I'd hate it if my Peugeots became nonfunctional.

--
Jean B.

In article >, "Jean B." >
wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> > In article >,
> > Goomba > wrote:
> >
> >> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky
> > (snip)
> >> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.
> >
> > Mine's still doing the job after 43 years of regular use.
> >
> >
> Thank goodness. I'd hate it if my Peugeots became nonfunctional.

<grin> It's kind of funny; my little pepper mill was a gift from an
acquaintance way back when. I didn't notice the brand or its reputation
until maybe 5 years ago. I have an Olde Thompson four-colors-of-acrylic
set that works great, too. Made in the USA, even! That one may one day
be an historical artifact. :-)
--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
On June 25, celebrating 65 years of annoying people.
Shop early and shop often. Good gin and cheap chocolate preferred.
Or cash. :-)

On Tue, 22 Jun 2010 22:45:02 -0400, "Jean B." > wrote:

>Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>> In article >,
>> Goomba > wrote:
>>
>>> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky
>> (snip)
>>> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.
>>
>> Mine's still doing the job after 43 years of regular use.
>>
>>
>Thank goodness. I'd hate it if my Peugeots became nonfunctional.

Try some run of the mill/generic Viagra.

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In article >, "Jean B." >
> wrote:
>
>> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>>> In article >,
>>> Goomba > wrote:
>>>
>>>> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky
>>> (snip)
>>>> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.
>>> Mine's still doing the job after 43 years of regular use.
>>>
>>>
>> Thank goodness. I'd hate it if my Peugeots became nonfunctional.
>
> <grin> It's kind of funny; my little pepper mill was a gift from an
> acquaintance way back when. I didn't notice the brand or its reputation
> until maybe 5 years ago. I have an Olde Thompson four-colors-of-acrylic
> set that works great, too. Made in the USA, even! That one may one day
> be an historical artifact. :-)

Lovely! There are so many pepper mills that don't work well, or
stop working soon after acquisition, that we have to mourn the
loss of the good ones. I hope yours survives to be a such a relic!

--
Jean B.

brooklyn1 wrote:
> On Tue, 22 Jun 2010 22:45:02 -0400, "Jean B." > wrote:
>
>> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>>> In article >,
>>> Goomba > wrote:
>>>
>>>> My old trusty Peugeot pepper mill is acting wonky
>>> (snip)
>>>> Is there a life span on these things?? I never had one die on me before.
>>> Mine's still doing the job after 43 years of regular use.
>>>
>>>
>> Thank goodness. I'd hate it if my Peugeots became nonfunctional.
>
> Try some run of the mill/generic Viagra.

Heh! Hmmm. Shall I spike the pepper with that?

--
Jean B.