Dek/Stanley/Beast contacted me in April 2012 and clarified who makes these mowers and where the company ownership is located. There is a lot of wrong information published on the web about this company so I really appreciated that they introduced themselves.
Fact: GXi Outdoor Power is a US based company who manufactures their products in china and completes final assembly in the US.
From GXi:
ABOUT GXi OUTDOOR POWER, LLC
GXi Outdoor Power, LLC is a Licensee of Stanley Black & Decker. GXi develops, manufactures and sells a range of outdoor power equipment targeted at high-end do-it-yourselfers and professionals. The products are sold under several brands including STANLEY®, Beast (The Home Depot®) and DEK®. Products include commercial lawn mowers, brush mowers, pressure washers, chipper shredders, snow blowers and generators. GXi differentiates its products through innovative designs, exclusive features, high quality, low cost manufacturing, strong marketing and superior customer service. Headquartered in Clayton, NC, the company employs over 200 employees with worldwide operations in: Phoenix, AZ, Hong Kong, Fuzhou and Liaocheng, China. For additional information, please visit:www.gxioutdoorpower.com.
GXI is very proud of their mowers. They spent considerable amount of time sending me specifications and literature about their machines.
They have repair facilities and prove-design at their Clayton, N.C. facility.
But, I am not going to review Stanley/Beast/DEK Zero Turn Mowers at this time. Even though they seem to be at many retailers, I have not seen one, or test driven one, so I can’t honestly give you enough information to help you decide if these mowers are the best for you.
I will review them when I get enough info and there is an established maintenance history and sales record.
Stanley/Beast Mowers
What do you know about these mowers? Do You own one? Leave your comments below.
Phil Mark
Paul
Make sure they give you one one the lawnmowers to test. Do yourself a favor and do not purchase one.
The lawnmower is not made to any standard an American company should distribute. The switches and starter are not waterproof or water resistant. Every connection is in q quick progression or rusting to the point of losing connection. Worse they do not have any replacement parts. This is importing at its worst. They seriously need some QA.
Worse the company is not at all responsive the the problems they are distributing.
KD4VGA
Wish I had seen this before I bought. The hydros fail and leak . When you try to get warranty work you get the try this try that , then they told me the leaking hydro is normal. Now at 30.3 hours on the mower the right side hydro has completely died. They told me I would be contacted within 24 hour on where I could take it.
No glory!!! 4 days later I called back, they say they are having trouble finding a place to take their terms. They want the servicer under no contract to remove the hydro , send it to them then after they test it and decide if it was my fault or not?? they would send a new one back and within 90 days the servicer would be reimbursed at their set rate for the work. BTW that 50$ no one reputable will accept this. So I ordered a replacement Hydro( Peerless) from another company. 540$ plus shipping each. Hopefully these will last more than 30 hours.!!!
Ed Franco
Hi, I Purchased a Z-Beast 62 in mower on july 22nd of 2017. I used the mower for a total of ten minutes. The mower has been to two different shops. It is now April, and guess what? My mower is still in the shop. ( 9 months ) and know mower. I finally recieved a call from the shop that the mower is ready, but i cant get it back because GXI doesnt want to pay him. I have been calling GXI for 9 months and have got nothing but excuses. I have never delt with a company like this in my life. Now I know why nobody wants to work on them. If you purchase one, all i can say is good luck. I will never purchase anything from this company agian.
Paul
Hi Ed, Thank you for your review. Unfortunately, I am unable to comment on them. Why? I wrote an honest review a few years ago and they threatened to sue me because I told the truth.
Jimmy
For those of us who now own this POS here is the number and filing location to complain about this mower. If enough of us file complaints then maybe the PSC will require them to replace the crappy drives they have put on the mowers. They last just long enough for them to get them off the lot and in to our yard and then quit pulling.
1-800-638-2772 and the form is found at https://www.saferproducts.gov/CPSRMSPublic/Incidents/ReportIncident.aspx Lets get these things out of our yards and back to the manufacturer now!!!
george
please bought one at first of the year i am now having to put third drive belt on think twice is all i can say. The mower only has 19 hours on it.
Ron
Roy, Wa Buy you belts from Fremont Industrial and get the Kevlar reinforced ones. Less expensive than GXI and quick to ship. Mine is down again because of another safety switch failure! Think twice before you buy
Paul Sikkema
@Ron, Do you have a website or phone number for Fremont?
BRENDA PITTMAN
got u beat mine has 1.5 hrs
Lance
Does anyone have anything to say about the Beast from Gxi …its supposed to be the higher end product to the Stanley machines ???
Paul Sikkema
@Lance, The Beast is just an Orange version of the Stanley/Gxi. Originally Home Depot wanted their own version (the Beast) but when it didn’t sell and everyone had issues, they released it and you will find it a various retailers.
Dan
Hope you saved your money had my for a year and half only 15 hrs on it and need a new deck already. Parts are hard to find I may piece it out and cut my loss
joe
where are u located ?
Paul Sikkema
Hi Joe, Halfway to the North Pole.
renee
Dan let me know if you peice it out thanks
renee
Lance i bought a zbeast the only problem i have found is finding blades for it, we do a lot of commercial mow a little ruff if a ride, other wise a nice machine no problems
renee
Just to let people know we have 25 hrs on ours it was greast when we first got it now this is the worst piece of crap ive ever own the drive is awlful the engine wont start unless choke is on even warm, every time i use it it brakes down hate the machine!
Alan Ursino
AL from Freehold NJ. Wow, hope I did not make a big mistake! Just picked up the Stanley 48″ mower from the shipping terminal on Saturday from GXI. Purchased from Home Depot site. I can’t get over all the posts about the nightmares owners are having with these mowers. I’m a tile contractor by trade but an opportunity to maintain 20 properties recently fell in my lap so had to purchase something. Happened to be on HD site and saw this machine. Never knew Stanley put out mowers. Have to say this machine offered a lot more than any others at this price, 20″ tires, hour meter 5 gal tank, etc. Are there any happy Stanley owners out there, would love to hear something positive about this mower, and a service location in my area. The mower does gave a Kawasaki 603cc, that moves faster than my my brothers Bobcat. My Stanley has 3.5 hrs. on it and not one problem, not one! Lol
Paul Sikkema
@Alan, Get ahold of GXI and find out who services it in your area. Then go to that dealer and ask them about repairs. I have a few owners who were sent to a repair shop but when they got there the owners would have NOTHING to do with the machine.
If the service scares you off see if you can return the mower to home Depot and purchase the Hustler Lawn Mower. Raptor 54 in. 23 HP Kawasaki V-Twin Hydrostatic Zero-Turn Mower 933101
. The service network is second to none but you may never need to use it except to buy blades and belts.
Rpm
Alan-I have the Stanley 48″ zero turn. It now has over 500 hours on it. I purchased it because of all the features they listed. The ad I saw said it had a manufactured deck and high back seat with armrests. Not true! And the ads have since changed deleting those features. I accepted the mower anyway and overall am very pleased with the machine itself. Customer service from GXI is virtually non-existent. Difficult to contact and not very helpful IMHO. Having said that, some parts are only available from GXI, such as blades which have a non-standard center hole. If you need deck belts, go to Fremont Industrial and purchase their kevlar reinforced belt. Cheaper than GXI and more durable! The only problem I have had with the mower is the seat safety switch shorting out. Luckily I found a dealer in Wa state that if fairly sharp and has been able to trouble shoot the problems. Other than that, no problems and the mower gets lots of use. A good value for the money if you don’t have trouble with it.
Paul Sikkema
@RPM, Thanks for the feedback! I was beginning to think no one had a unit that worked.
Richard
I sent that POS back to the vendor! Home Depot took full responsibility of sending it back.Refunding my money with-in 5-10 days.I for one gave it the benefit of the doubt…Hydros was falling apart.Good luck trying to contact the vendor.If Home Depot folks(9 times on different days) counldn’t get them on the phone,They surely will not take the consumers calls.Cypress,Texas
Richard
Wow….I just bought the 62′.Due to be delivered on June 4,2014.I’m in Cypress,Texas.Bought mine through Home Depot.I was very skeptical at first,asked about who will service mine.Since some of you had so little hours on them,Why not send it back? Home Depot has a returned policy…I just can’t remember right off the back of my head at the moment.
Ken Butler
Piece of junk. 37 hrs on it in over 2 years. Most of time in repair or waiting on someone that will even work on thing. Last time the repair shop said to never bring it in again, they were tired of dealing with GXi customer service. Forgot to add is the biggest failure is hydraulics. If you like a mower that just sits there and runs with no movement then this is the one for you.
Eva, Al
jesse
You are all right they are the biggest pile of compost ever made only have 32 hours on it and been in the shop for 2 1/2 years out of the three years owned and now it still wont start as of now. The thing has been taken apart i dont know how many times and it still falls apart. China made yes and lets not get started on GXI. That’s all i got to say about that.
Ron
Roy, Wa. I have owned a Stanley 48″ zero turn w/Kawasaki engine for 2 years. I have had no mechanical problems with the mower. Had to replace a relay last year and this year had to replace a fuse as the seat safety switch shorted out (poor design as all power goes thru this switch). Also had to replace the main drive belt (can you say expensive and hard to find?)! The mower works great so far. However, if you need parts or customer service, good luck. Parts are ONLY available from GXI and they are expensive! And customer service/support is non-existent! I tried to get a copy of the wiring diagram and they say they don’t have one. How the heck can you build a machine without a wiring diagram? Luckily, I have found a local shop that is quite knowledgeable and is able to service it and find parts (long wait for belts, etc). If it weren’t for the poor support and parts availability, I would rate this as a good value for the money.
JW
I have the unfortunate distinction of owning one of these P.O.S., not because I wanted to, but the Sears Craftsman Professional series tractor literally fell apart and after a lengthy battle, I was able to get my money reimbursed on a in-store credit, which left me in a quandry. I out the voucher and another 1500.00 on the Stanley ZTR and have had nothing but problems with it since I got it….GXI has stalled out until the warranty has since passed, they replaced both transmissions and numerous other parts (The mower Shop hates me now for getting them involved with GXI) and they got paid next to nothing for about 45 hrs worth of work, basically minimum wage……I will tell everyone NOT to buy one of these, trust me….you cant get satisfaction from these P.O.S. nor the service dept at GXI…I will be contacting the A.G. to see if there is any legal recourse
Bryan
P.O.S.!!!! I own the most useless piece of junk on the earth!40 hrs on it and it wont hardly move because the hydros dont work worth a damn. Repair told me that they will not work on it because GXI will not work with them. So if you have the money to throw away this is the mower for you!!!!
1
Paul Sikkema
@Byran, I’m interested to know where you bought the Stanley and how long it ran before the transmissions started giving you issues.
Brian
You couldnt find a worse mower. Mine has 16 hrs on it. I have owned it for 10 months and it has been broken for 8 of them. Just got it back from the shop today and it made it 1.5 hrs before the right hydro went out again.
Victor Bermudez
How sad that your’s turn out this way my works like a charm i use it on my daily route, I also take care of it like a baby even garage kept every night after my route. Not many positive things are said about this mower for some reason or another but they sell very well that i know for a fact over at BJ’s wholesale club every feedback is a 5 star you can check it out on their website. I plan on buying the 61″ at the end of this summer to add it to my business.Some people put it down because is made in China well look Around your homes soon every thing will be made in china i Give GXI big credit for giving us a product with features you only find in twice the price mowers.And finally Almost all mowers use an engine from the top 3 makers and Kawasaki is rated right on top you can go anywhere and notice that the same product of any mower cost more if it has a Kawasaki engine less for B&S or Koller Maybe i am lucky but i do 50 Accounts a week it i have yet to have any problems i do get compliments hope my two cents helps P.S. I change the oil on my every weekend yes i said every weekend i know that sounds like a lot but is a small price to pay to keep up my Business not able to take care of my accounts will cost thousands and risk loosing them.
Paul Sikkema
@Victor, Do you use a dealer for parts or do you go right to the manufacture? Can you get blades belts, etc right away?
With 50 accounts I agree, you should be changing oil every week. That is the least expensive way to keep you engine running for a good, long time.
Victor Bermudez
Paul I have 3 local dealers they don’t carry this things in stock a dealer 30 minutes away does so i keep the belts and blades in my garage when i get low i get more the local dealers do warranty and non warranty this dealers have told me that if the product was more popular they would keep it in stock for now they will order it from Stanley out of North Carolina i have no idea how long it would take. I was aware of this when i bought the machine but it was a risk i was willing to take. I agree that if this was a popular product they would keep them in stock
Norbert Barrette
This company just contacted us today to see if we are interested in performing warranty work for them. I am currently trying to find info on this company, and the country the products are being built. Just from reading your comments we work on enough inferior products from Asian countries as it is. Thanks for helping me make a decision.
ToolBoxHero
@Norbert, You are very welcome!
l ingle
The biggest POS I have ever owned. 5500.00 wasted. Machine has 4.5 hours on it, bought in Dec.2010 and been in shop from day one. 4 hours are shop time (been in shop 6 times)Has NEVER worked properly, the hydros have been replaced twice and gas struts also. Very inferior built. Headlight fell out the day I got it when I cranked. Don’t know if the engines good or not since hours are so low, but it does crank everytime. GXI power is worthless. I will be shocked if this (Stanley) part of the company is still operating in 2012!!
Paul Sikkema
@l ingle, I had a feeling this was one of the duds this year.