I am not going to review Stanley/Beast/DEK Zero Turn Mowers at this time. But I will tell you what I know about them and let you make your own decision on whether they are right for you.
I will review them when I get enough info and there is an established maintenance history and sales record.
As of Feb 2012 I only know of four of the 62 in models that have been sold. THREE broke down within the first 2 weeks of use. One has been waiting on transmission repairs since May 15th, 2011. (It’s still not fixed)
I include the following mowers in this article:
48 in. 20 HP B&S Pro Series Engine with Electric Start Zero Turn Mower
54 in. 22 HP 653 cc Subaru V-Twin Engine with Electric Start Commercial Zero Turn Mower
62 in. 31 HP 850 cc Kawasaki V-Twin Engine with Electric Start Commercial Zero Turn Mower
Beast/Stanley/DEK Zero-Turn Mowers.
Stanley/Beast Mowers as far as I can tell are made by dekpowerusa but not in the U.S.A.. DEK seems to be owned by Fuzhou D&J Power Co., Ltd DEK. dek-engine.com
At this time these mowers are a poor excuse for a zero-turn. For the same money you can buy a Husqvarna MZ6128ZT. The Husqvarna is a proven winner and will last you years.
When I get a chance I specifically want to look at the hydrostatic drives, the frame welds, and any gusseting at the normal stress points these types of mowers all have. From the pictures on the websites I do not see any gussets at the normal stress points for these types of mowers. (the front spindle to frame for example) I can see on all the walk behinds they make the front spindle assembly is not made strong enough for commercial work and those mowers would not last one season. They literature states the zero-turns will go 10 mph. I know from direct experience that it takes a very well built machine to withstand the bumps and jars of mowing lawns at that speed.
I’m sure the quality is the normal perfect Chinese quality, but will they stand up to American lawns? When I get to see one I know enough about commercial mowers to tell if they will last.
>These mowers are labeled “commercial” but in my opinion if they are made here in the US the price is too low. All of the American made commercial mowers sell for at least twice as much.
> I am a little confused by the engine choices they offer. Fuzhou spends a great deal of time on their site explaining how their motors are better than Honda and Kawasaki, Yet these mowers sold in the US all have Honda or Kawasaki motors.
> One last thing that bothers me about Fuzhou, the company that makes these mowers. They spend a great deal of time bragging about how they tried to buy diesel engine technology from Japan in 1990. They were unsuccessful, so they bought a few of the engines and then proceeded to copy the design and put it into production in 1997. With the technology they copied they produced the first GEN Set made on mainland China.
You can click on these links to see the complete line of
Stanley Mowers at Northern Tool
HomeDepot.com Beast Mowers
What do you know about these mowers? Do You own one? Leave you comments below.