Customer Reviews

Trudeau Graviti Battery-Operated Electric Pepper Mill, Chrome

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(30)

 

 

I searched for 30 years for the perfect affordable pepper grinder. I've bought literally DOZENS of different salt and/or pepper mills: Manual, hand-squeeze, and electric. Up until I found this one three years ago, the best I'd found was a squeeze-handle model I received as a gift, lost in a fire, and never found one like it again. Almost all of the others were trash from the start--no volume and no durability. Even if they worked at all at first, they wore out in just a couple of refills. Twist-twist-twist and you got a couple of shakes worth of pepper. If you found one that gave you the coarseness you liked, it would change in a few uses.

Then I found this one.

Three Christmases ago, I was looking for a gift for a friend who loves to cook when I found this grinder at Smart and Final. I bought one for her and--ever the optimist--one for me to try. I filled it up and--like many others who commented here, did so without reading the directions. I had problems opening and filling it. I was getting pretty frustrated until I noticed the warning on the red spindle inside. It says "Max Fill Line" and it MEANS it!

Every problem I've read here can be attributed to over-filling. DON'T DO IT! Once you've filled it a couple of times, you get the hang of it and zip-zip you're done. I now use a free coffee measure to get exactly the right amount of peppercorns in one try. Without it, you may pour a little back and forth a couple of times to get it exactly full. As mentioned elsewhere, you should tilt it a little when you unscrew the base (It's a backwards twist when bottoms-up--CW is off), and once the battery pack is seated again, tilt it back up a little before seating the cap. This minimizes any pepper ground out while filling. For the first couple of fills, do it over the sink.

The battery pack has a little extra room around the individual batteries so, if it isn't working at first, make sure all of the batteries are completely vertical, as one of them can tilt and make poor contact. Once in, mine last for a little over a year on a set of batteries (approximately one HUGE mega-container of peppercorns from Costco). I used rechargeables the first year, then decided that was a waste of expensive batteries on a low-current device and I switched to alkalines.

It grinds perfectly at whatever size you select and it *KEEPS THAT SETTING* until you change it (!) I've used it daily for three years without a problem--and that includes using it over steaming posts (which clogged up other grinders). Other than getting used to loading it the first couple of times, I have had NO problems with this unit.

It is more durable than one would suspect. I knock it over often--because I'm absent-minded and clumsy. I've knocked it onto the floor over a dozen times. It is no worse for wear.

If there is anything I would change it would be to increase the hopper volume. As stated several times here, it's smaller than I would like it. Some of this comes from the fact that it is so good, one tends to forget the sheer volume of peppercorns that one runs through it in a month. I always quit grinding with other mills before I'm completely satisfied because I get tired and bored. This one gives you what you want, when you want it.

I went back to Smart and Final a couple of weeks after buying the first two, intending to buy three more for me (salt and pepper for both of my houses), only to find they were a seasonal promotion and gone. I have checked with them repeatedly over the last three years with no luck. Today I googled them and found this one. Hoo-RAY!!!!

I am now buying four more--three for me and one for a gift for my daughter.

Take a few minutes, read the directions carefully--and then follow them--and you will be quite happy with this pepper (and salt) mill.

This is a handy product, but it has a few problems:
Pros.
1. Works well and is highly adjustable.
2. I like a lot of pepper. It would sometimes take me a couple of minutes to grind with a manual grinder what I can now grind in seconds.
Cons.
1. Grinder stem contains a spring that is easily dislodged. It ends up in the peppercorns if you aren't very careful when refilling. Also, if you accidentally overfill it, the spring will fall out when you empty the excess peppercorns and you will have to get a tool to reinstall it. It's not a huge problem but is mildly annoying.
2. Sounds like an electric pencil sharpener. The motor is a bit loud.

A rechargable model might be better. I used Duracell batteries and the required 6 AAA batteries lasted three months. I use it rather intensely 5 days a week, so your mileage may vary.

Graviti Pepper

Reading about the design of this pepper mill had me very intrigued. Some of the features that caught my attention, the pepper comes out the top of the unit, no more pepper all over the counter due to pepper grounds falling out the bottom where most units discharge the grindings. Being battery powered, you only need to tip the bottom up to have a nice flow of pepper dispense out the top. A very simple design that really is useful.

Quality: Well, this is where this unit falls a little short. It really is a shame. If this design were made more durable it would be a have to have product. The area of most concern is the drive motor module to pepper mill body interface. The instructions warn not to over fill the mill with unground pepper. If you do you stand a chance of causing the motor module not to seat properly into the mill body allowing it to spin in the housing. Doing this just once, will cause the little plastic nobbies to wear off that secure the drive motor. This in turn will render the unit useless. The body of this unit is plastic. Not that there is anything wrong with plastic, I just don't think it was originally designed for plastic and the loads on the drive system seem way to high for the plastic interface. If it were made of just about any metal I don't think there would be an issue.

Filling Unit: This can be a little tricky. You fill the unit with peppercorns from the bottom. Take care to rotate the base a few degrees in the direction indicated to remove the base. Tip it upside down with the bottom facing up. Pull out the motor module using the pull ring. Add peppercorns to just below the full mark. Reinstall motor module making sure that it fully engages the grinder and that it seats all the way down. Reinstall the base and you should be ready to grind.

Color: This unit can be purchased in many colors including chrome. Even the chrome is made of plastic however.

Pricing: The price for the unit seems fair as long as it keeps working. I've had mine for about two weeks now. I will post an update as time goes by.

Conclusion: I really like the design and how the unit works. I'm glad I purchased it so far. I will take special care at filling the unit NOT to OVER FILL it. I would highly recommend to anyone that has a love of useful and very unique kitchen gadgets.

This is a real wrist saver because you no longer have to twist or shake to get your finely ground pepper. Turn it upside down and watch the pepper sift onto your food. But make sure you use only high quality peppercorns (the ones with rough surfaces), because the cheap stuff can get stuck in the mechanism and cause it to slip. If this happens, use the point of a knife to dig out the casings from the shaft attachment on the battery pack. Get good stuff and it will work again just fine.

Reading about the design of this pepper mill had me very intrigued. Some of the features that caught my attention, the pepper comes out the top of the unit, no more pepper all over the counter due to pepper grounds falling out the bottom where most units discharge the grindings. Being battery powered, you only need to tip the bottom up to have a nice flow of pepper dispense out the top. A very simple design that really is useful.

Quality: Well, this is where this unit falls a little short. It really is a shame. If this design were made more durable it would be a have to have product. The area of most concern is the drive motor module to pepper mill body interface. The instructions warn not to over fill the mill with unground pepper. If you do you stand a chance of causing the motor module not to seat properly into the mill body allowing it to spin in the housing. Doing this just once, will cause the little plastic nobbies to wear off that secure the drive motor. This in turn will render the unit useless. The body of this unit is plastic. Not that there is anything wrong with plastic, I just don't think it was originally designed for plastic and the loads on the drive system seem way to high for the plastic interface. If it were made of just about any metal I don't think there would be an issue.

Filling Unit: This can be a little tricky. You fill the unit with peppercorns from the bottom. Take care to rotate the base a few degrees in the direction indicated to remove the base. Tip it upside down with the bottom facing up. Pull out the motor module using the pull ring. Add peppercorns to just below the full mark. Reinstall motor module making sure that it fully engages the grinder and that it seats all the way down. Reinstall the base and you should be ready to grind.

Color: This unit can be purchased in many colors including chrome. Even the chrome is made of plastic however.

Pricing: The price for the unit seems fair as long as it keeps working. I've had mine for about two weeks now. I will post an update as time goes by.

Conclusion: I really like the design and how the unit works. I'm glad I purchased it so far. I will take special care at filling the unit NOT to OVER FILL it. I would highly recommend to anyone that has a love of useful and very unique kitchen gadgets.

Update, Jan 22, 2009

My unit is still working very well. I would still recommend it.

I really love this pepper mill. I got it about a year ago and it works great! I noticed that one reviewer complained about the quality that it was made of plastic, but that's why it's so affordable for anyone - at $26.95 it is a bargain. As I said, I've used mine for a year and it still works great! You just flip the mill and watch the pepper spill out, no buttons to push! It puts some FUN into the kitchen.

We purchased the pepper mill in August 2008 and loved it. So much so that we gave them to several people as gifts. Our mill has had constant use which might explain why it is now held together with sticky tape. The base attaches to the body with little teeth that catch into slots when turned. Those little teeth have worn away, hence the need for tape. Without the base fully engaged, the mill does not function. It is difficult to know whether six months of continual use is all that can be expected of this product.
Most of the other complaints have not bothered us - no difficulty with refilling the peppercorns, the noise, batteries, nor problems with the mechanism or grind. Trudeau: please correct the problem and issue Graviti Mill 2.0.

At first we loved it. Then it began to jam. When we cleared the pepper, it worked for a while and then jammed again.
Early on I had bought six for Christmas presents. I haven't heard from the recipients. I hope their's work better than mine.
V.T. Abercrombie

I've read all the past reviews, have had this product for almost 2 years. I soon found out that it didn't like "large" peppercorns, even included in a mix. I now use McCormick Black peppercorns, which are uniformly small, readily available, and highly rated. Works like a charm!
Find something else for the "fancy" blends with the big peppercorns.

I received this item for Christmas, and at first I thought it was wonderful. Then I was in the just finishing up the last of the seasoning, before serving and no pepper. This unit is unreliable sometimes it grinds just fine, other times nothing. I don't know if it was defective or a poor design. If you took it apart and put the batteries back in then it would work. Having to fix a pepper grinder in the middle of cooking wasn't acceptable.