I know this is my first post, but I feel like this is the first post I can actually contribute to with some first hand knowledge. There are so many people sharing great information that by the time I get on here the topics are always covered and I end up learning something new.

Anyways, about Bradley mowers. I purchased their 52" "Compact Stander" at the end of last fall and have loved it so far. I have just under 19,000sqft of lawn and wanted to reduce my mowing time but could also fit in my limited shed space. After researching at length all of the big players I took a leap and went with Bradley. The mower now has about 20hours of run time on it and I have zero complaints. The story I have read is the frame and parts are made in China and the mower is assembled here using quality parts. The 52" stander is basically a direct copy of a BobCat stander which is not a bad thing. I would certainly say it is commercial grade, it weighs over 900lbs and has thick stamped steel all over. I am an engineer and would have been disappointed if the mower was not build like they described. I have had zero issues with the mower.

The cut quality in my opinion is excellent. My neighbor who I am good friends with has an Exmark Lazer ztr and he is jealous of my mower. I would say the cut quality is equal on the mowers but mine has a faster ground speed and quite a bit more HP.

Also, their pricing is amazing for what you get for a machine and their customer service has always been quick to respond when I have questions even well after the sale. They also have most of their parts available for purchase directly from the website. The mower came with a user manual and parts manual so setup was easy and if I need parts I can get them quickly.

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to answer them. Do you have a link to the new 36" model? I looked quick and didn't see it on their website.

 

Here are a few pictures of the mower, my northern no-mix lawn which was in okay shape but not the best and a picture of the lights I added to it for night mowing. Please ignore the "landscaping and shrubs/bushes" those are on my to improve list after the lawn haha.

 

I know this is my first post, but I feel like this is the first post I can actually contribute to with some first hand knowledge. There are so many people sharing great information that by the time I get on here the topics are always covered and I end up learning something new.

Anyways, about Bradley mowers. I purchased their 52" "Compact Stander" at the end of last fall and have loved it so far. I have just under 19,000sqft of lawn and wanted to reduce my mowing time but could also fit in my limited shed space. After researching at length all of the big players I took a leap and went with Bradley. The mower now has about 20hours of run time on it and I have zero complaints. The story I have read is the frame and parts are made in China and the mower is assembled here using quality parts. The 52" stander is basically a direct copy of a BobCat stander which is not a bad thing. I would certainly say it is commercial grade, it weighs over 900lbs and has thick stamped steel all over. I am an engineer and would have been disappointed if the mower was not build like they described. I have had zero issues with the mower.

The cut quality in my opinion is excellent. My neighbor who I am good friends with has an Exmark Lazer ztr and he is jealous of my mower. I would say the cut quality is equal on the mowers but mine has a faster ground speed and quite a bit more HP.

Also, their pricing is amazing for what you get for a machine and their customer service has always been quick to respond when I have questions even well after the sale. They also have most of their parts available for purchase directly from the website. The mower came with a user manual and parts manual so setup was easy and if I need parts I can get them quickly.

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to answer them. Do you have a link to the new 36" model? I looked quick and didn't see it on their website.

Thanks man,. The 36 Stander was at the GIE and Bradley said it would be available in the spring. It has yet to be posted on the website. Tony lawn Care on YouTube did a interview with Bradley and showed off the 36.

 

Here are a few pictures of the mower, my northern no-mix lawn which was in okay shape but not the best and a picture of the lights I added to it for night mowing. Please ignore the "landscaping and shrubs/bushes" those are on my to improve list after the lawn haha.

Nice pictures. You just made my mind up I'm definitely buying the 36 Stander as soon as it's available. 900lbs the machine never left ruts in your yard?

@x Wild Bill x

 

I know this is my first post, but I feel like this is the first post I can actually contribute to with some first hand knowledge. There are so many people sharing great information that by the time I get on here the topics are always covered and I end up learning something new.

Anyways, about Bradley mowers. I purchased their 52" "Compact Stander" at the end of last fall and have loved it so far. I have just under 19,000sqft of lawn and wanted to reduce my mowing time but could also fit in my limited shed space. After researching at length all of the big players I took a leap and went with Bradley. The mower now has about 20hours of run time on it and I have zero complaints. The story I have read is the frame and parts are made in China and the mower is assembled here using quality parts. The 52" stander is basically a direct copy of a BobCat stander which is not a bad thing. I would certainly say it is commercial grade, it weighs over 900lbs and has thick stamped steel all over. I am an engineer and would have been disappointed if the mower was not build like they described. I have had zero issues with the mower.

The cut quality in my opinion is excellent. My neighbor who I am good friends with has an Exmark Lazer ztr and he is jealous of my mower. I would say the cut quality is equal on the mowers but mine has a faster ground speed and quite a bit more HP.

Also, their pricing is amazing for what you get for a machine and their customer service has always been quick to respond when I have questions even well after the sale. They also have most of their parts available for purchase directly from the website. The mower came with a user manual and parts manual so setup was easy and if I need parts I can get them quickly.

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to answer them. Do you have a link to the new 36" model? I looked quick and didn't see it on their website.

Thanks man,. The 36 Stander was at the GIE and Bradley said it would be available in the spring. It has yet to be posted on the website. Tony lawn Care on YouTube did a interview with Bradley and showed off the 36.

@x Wild Bill x

 

@CenlaLowell Never had any troubles with rutting. If you look at the weight of most commercial ztr's they are even heavier yet use the size tires. I also make sure to vary my mowing pattern, including trying to offset my perimeter passes. I am sure if you mowed the same way every time you would get some rutting. Sometimes I will even use my push mower around the edges to save some wear on the lawn as our lawn has a rock border almost all the way around.

When you order the unit, be sure to call Bradley directly and ask them if there are any "discounts" or deals. When I called they knocked a few hundred off the website price and shipping was less than their website even though it was lift gate service. Ohh and speaking of delivery, if the 36" is shipped the same way make sure you have a sawzall and some ingenuity ready! My mower came in/on a steel frame/crate. Bradley didn't have any great recommendations on how to get it out without a forklift so I got creative. I unbolted the machine from the crate, used some ratchet straps to lift it up using the shipping crate and cut off a few supports holding the casters in place. I was then able to roll the mower off. Fortunately I have a friend who took the metal crate, otherwise it would be tough to dispose of a big steel frame. Also, make sure to add oil to the engine. They test run them and drain the oil for shipment.

Sorry for the novel, but one last thing. If you want any accessories ask about them when ordering, they are priced well and they will ship them with the mower for free. I purchased the block off plate for mulching and 3 gator style blades for $60, well worth the price IMO.

Glad I could be of help. It will be interesting to see their new unit,

 

@CenlaLowell cautious with the hydrostatic mowers under 42 inches. Most of the criticisms of sub-42 inch mowers are aimed at the 32 inch zero turns, but the noted issues still apply in some cases. Most people note a poorer cut quality, although with your grass type and a double pass even if this is true for the Bradly 36 stander you could probably work around it. Others claim the smaller mowers create ruts.

 

@CenlaLowell cautious with the hydrostatic mowers under 42 inches. Most of the criticisms of sub-42 inch mowers are aimed at the 32 inch zero turns, but the noted issues still apply in some cases. Most people note a poorer cut quality, although with your grass type and a double pass even if this is true for the Bradly 36 stander you could probably work around it. Others claim the smaller mowers create ruts.

I really wonder how true this is because wright has been making a 32&36 Stander for a long time and you never hear people complain about them. Usually the biggger the deck the worst the cut quality is what I thought. My example would be my 42 John Deere tractor I hate the cut quality on that machine, so now I don't even use it.

 

If I remember correctly, when I was doing my research some of the early small ztr's had rutting issues. This was mainly due to tire size choices. I think the manufacturers we taking a walk behind and making a rider with the same small footprint tires which cause compaction issues. Ditto for the decks, I think the smaller deck units were fixed decks that did not follow the contour of a lawn as well. I could be wrong, but it makes sense. Search Lawnsite for reviews of the smaller standers/ztr's. There is some good info on there, but some of the users are clearly biased.

 

Just pray you never have problems with the machine. Your customer service issue will be dealt with owner Mr. Havener himself and it won't be favorable. FYI, those reviews on the website are only the glowingly good ones. My factually negative review never got through their screening.

 

Just pray you never have problems with the machine. Your customer service issue will be dealt with owner Mr. Havener himself and it won't be favorable. FYI, those reviews on the website are only the glowingly good ones. My factually negative review never got through their screening.

What's weird is all the reviews on YouTube are glowing. I really hope those guys are not getting paid by Bradley to do that.

 

Yep, that's what sold me was the reviews and youtube videos. I wouldn't doubt they got really good pricing on their machines. They've kept the 48" on sale for 3899 for a long, long time too which I was told wouldn't last long.

 

The mower was supposed to be delivered today but FedEx was not able to make it. So I went over there to speak with them. Delivery should be tomorrow

 

I have two questions for you or anyone else can chime in as well @x Wild Bill x
What blades are you using on your Bradley?
I'm looking to mulch so I have the gator blades and the plate. I have not put on the gator blades yet and I'm wondering how the cut would be with the factory blades.

Second, how do you get your blades off?
I don't have a lift yet, so I thought I could do it from the ground like I do with my Deere, but the bolts are awful tight.

Appreciate the help

 

I have two questions for you or anyone else can chime in as well @x Wild Bill x
What blades are you using on your Bradley?
I'm looking to mulch so I have the gator blades and the plate. I have not put on the gator blades yet and I'm wondering how the cut would be with the factory blades.

Second, how do you get your blades off?
I don't have a lift yet, so I thought I could do it from the ground like I do with my Deere, but the bolts are awful tight.

Appreciate the help

@CenlaLowell

I have used three different sets of blades so far. I used the stock high lift blades, the mulching blades from Bradley and Oregon G6 blades. The 52" mower uses 3 blades Oregon PN: 396-726, 18" long, 5/8" center hole 3" wide 1/4" thick. I did not notice a difference in cut quality between the blades. The high lifts certainly move a lot of air and lift the grass well. However, they do not work great with the side mulch plate and when side discharging they will throw clippings 2 to 3 rows over. This is good for dispersing cut grass but makes mowing in tight spaces tougher without getting grass everywhere.

The Bradley mulch blades look just like G5 Gator blades and work well with the block off plate. If you are taking a lot of grass off you may get some windrows of clippings from the block off plate. I only have this happen with the spring growth where I may be cutting a little past the 1/3 rule. The G6 blades are my favorite as they are thicker and have a sintered edge so they keep a sharp edge for a long time. However, they are more expensive an the Bradley blades seems to last also. So, that's my long winded way of saying all three types work for their intended purpose and I like having multiple sets so I can have a sharp set ready to go.

FYI, the at least on the 48" and 52" models, they are nearly a direct copy of the Bob Cat Quickcat stander from what I can see and have read. I am very tempted to order the full mulch baffle kit for a Bob Cat and see if I can get it to work. The Bob Cat uses blades with a raised center and the Bradley uses flat blades with a spacer. I have a hunch that if you were in a bind you could run the raised center blades with the spacer underneath the blade and be okay. My favorite setup is the G6 Blades while side discharging and putting the block off plate on when near the road or house. Even while side discharging the mulching blades do a great job of mulching up the grass so it falls into the canopy and cannot be noticed. If the mulch baffle kit fits I would run that with G6's 90% of the time, and if it does not work out I will probably get an OCDC. Eventually I will probably buy the grass catcher too for the rare times I want to bag.

To get the blades off I usually drive up on my car ramps to get the deck off the ground a little bit. Have you taken the side and middle belt covers off the deck yet? There are flats on the spindles where you can fit a thin wrench to lock them. I then use my 1/2" drive breaker bar to loosen the bolts.The flats on the spindles take a The bolts were super tight from the factory and I do not put as much torque on them when I replace the blades. I forget the torque value in the manual, but I go with "wonder women" tight vs "super man" tight haha. I have changed the blades on the ground and while it's not as easy it is doable and not impossible.

I did find what I feel is a reasonably priced mower lift on sale Black Friday and purchased it, but I have not had a chance to try it yet. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/cub-cadet-550-lb-heavy-duty-lawn-mower-lift?cm_vc=-10005 This same lift is sold under several names at several location such as HomeDepot etc, so shop around. On Black Friday is was $129 or so I believe.

@cglarsen That is the first truly negative response I have heard about Bradley. Whenever I have emailed them since purchase with general info questions they have been very quick to respond. I also looked everywhere online for negative reviews and couldn't find much. I looked all over Lawnsite and most people don't recommend them because they don't have local dealers with parts to get you back to mowing ASAP. Which I get when you're running a company, but for a homeowner I can handle waiting for parts. I found one user on Lawnsite that said he ran some Bradley equipment so I PM'd him and he had nothing bad to say about them. In the end, I figured the engine is from B&S and the hydro drives are used by many other companies and the only proprietary parts are the frame, deck etc. that looks solid. I am not trying to downplay your poor experience or opinion. What problems did you run into? I can give you the email of the sales lady who has been helpful for me.

Two other things I feel worth mentioning. I recommend getting a cheap hour meter/tachometer off Ebay. They are sub $20 and very easy to install. It will allow you track hours for maintenance and make sure the engine is turning the desired RPM which should be 3,500-3,600 with the blades turning.
Second, make sure to have the deck lowered to cutting height prior to engaging the blades. I read where Bob Cat owners would throw the deck belt if they engage the PTO with the deck at the transport height.

Sorry for the lengthy reply, but I like to be thorough when trying to help people and not leave them wondering what I am talking about.

 

Thanks for the reply.

Since you did not notice a difference between the blades I will cut with the standard, Bradley gator which comes from stens, and a stens high lift. I will post about any difference I notice throughout the season. I will always use the mulching plates because I do not want to throw any grass in my flower beds.



That is the label my Bradley gator blade came with⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆



The high lifts I want to try⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆

Next, I will try some ramps to see if that will help me. I never tried removing the belt plates mainly because I've always used a wood block against the blades to allow me to break the bolts. I just noticed the bolts were so tight, like you, I'm not putting them back on like that.

So far I love the machine. Everything works as advertised. I have to wait until the growing season for a cut quality review.

About the meter. I had one installed on my machine from Bradley it was only 15$. I just don't know if its a tachometer as well. I will look into that tomorrow.

@x Wild Bill x

 

@CenlaLowell Good to know you got the machine and everything is working well! I didn't even think of asking them to install an hour meter for me when I bought mine. I just mounted it using a piece of aluminum angle and an existing bolt.

Those blades look just like mine, only a little shorter for your deck size. When you get down to it, blades are just angled pieces of metal spinning very fast. I think the angle and quality of edge on a blade makes the biggest difference in cut/finish quality when the blade design is similar. After that you have durability and longevity which being a homeowner I am not was worried. But you are also cutting St.A and weeds(Bermuda)-sorry I had to haha and I have cool season grass.

One last thing I just thought of, when I went from my riding mower to zero turn, I found I was tearing up my grass a bit with the front casters. I had no problem keeping the rear tires in motion and preventing burn out marks. However it took me a little practice to keep the front casters from rotating in place and spinning up the grass. Again with a shorter southern grass you may not have this problem. Maybe practice on a neighbors lawn first? Haha

 

@x Wild Bill x
@CenlaLowell

I don't want to rain on Cenla's parade but I already gave him the cliff notes but here they are for you Bill:

- delivery was terrible, Fedex contractor nearly dumped machine off lift.
- machine came damaged with nicks and scratches
- out of box cut quality was horrendous, anything that could be adusted needed to be adjusted.
- parking brake assembly fell apart at 10 hours
- two blade changes and deck leveling attempts before cut was ok - those blade nuts are cranked on. I had to buy an impact wrench and lift.
- had to purchase tachometer to diagnose engine speed and adjust throttle cable
- Bradley sales people are generally good but have no authority
- Local shops did not want to perform warranty work on Bradley machines
- Bradley owner would not reimburse any costs under warranty and told me, and I quote, "these mowers are designed for commercial users and we expect purchasers to know how and be able to perform maintenance and repairs." Alright...

So after about $200 out of pocket and many hours of frustration, I finally have it working ok. It's a tank for sure. But I wish I had just bought the damn Exmark or Scag ZTR locally for dealership support. I thought I could save some money and have a better mower but it has not been the case for me.

Alas, we are all in this boat together. The high lift blades do a good job mulching the grass pretty fine and the low lifts that I have on do not at all - they send out long leaf trimmings. Just purchased the Yellow Hornet blade sharpening jig to put a good edge on my blades this year. Vanguard engine is solid with good power. I have an hour meter on mine too.

 

@cglarsen
Bummer to hear of your problems with getting your mower setup. I deal with several different shipping companies at work and it's amazing how poorly they can handle goods. Receiving a dinged up machine would certainly put a sour taste in my mouth. Also, good to know about the warranty and getting them to pay for it. I had a feeling I would be on my own when buying this, but considering the nearest equivalent mower was $2k more I was willing to take the leap. Around here Exmark thinks their mowers are made from gold and charge for it. My buddy has one and I saw a gallon of Exmark hydro fluid in his garage, it was $69 for the gallon!

What did you end up setting your deck pitch at? Most of last year I ran mine 1/8"-1/4" down in the front. This cut well but I had a bit of blowout with the mulch plate installed. This fall I flipped it and went 1/8"-1/4" high in the front and it made a big difference in how small it mulched leaves and a lot less blowout. The cut quality still seemed good, but it was hard to tell as I was doing mostly fall cleanup. I am going to try the reverse pitch in the spring and see how it looks. I just cut some 4x4 blocks so changing the pitch is pretty quick.

 

@x Wild Bill x

I have it setup 1/8" higher in front currently. Haven't noticed a much difference from level. Maybe I will try the reverse next time for comparison.

 

@cglarsen
Bummer to hear of your problems with getting your mower setup. I deal with several different shipping companies at work and it's amazing how poorly they can handle goods. Receiving a dinged up machine would certainly put a sour taste in my mouth. Also, good to know about the warranty and getting them to pay for it. I had a feeling I would be on my own when buying this, but considering the nearest equivalent mower was $2k more I was willing to take the leap. Around here Exmark thinks their mowers are made from gold and charge for it. My buddy has one and I saw a gallon of Exmark hydro fluid in his garage, it was $69 for the gallon!

What did you end up setting your deck pitch at? Most of last year I ran mine 1/8"-1/4" down in the front. This cut well but I had a bit of blowout with the mulch plate installed. This fall I flipped it and went 1/8"-1/4" high in the front and it made a big difference in how small it mulched leaves and a lot less blowout. The cut quality still seemed good, but it was hard to tell as I was doing mostly fall cleanup. I am going to try the reverse pitch in the spring and see how it looks. I just cut some 4x4 blocks so changing the pitch is pretty quick.

From the factory the pitch seems pretty leveled. I measured from each corner at most the front was 1/16 higher than the back. Yes the deck leveling seems pretty easy and the bolts were not super tight either. I've never had a mower that needed deck leveling so this is definitely new to me. What's weird about my setup is the bolts are not at the exact same height. Look at the pictures




This is the left side of the mower. On the right side both bolts are all the way up. There's no Gap in the other bolts at all. So I measured and measured, but everything seems within specs. The way it looks the mower deck should be leaning to one side more than the other but from all the measurements I took this is not the case. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

This is why this forum is great everyone can learn from one another.

 

Upon further inspection I noticed the blades were off one side was at 2 1/2 and the other at 2 3/8 so I went ahead and level those bolts to match at 2 1/2. Learn something new everyday

 

When I did mine I assumed the deck was square/level and rotated the blades so the tips were at the front to take my HOC reference. Once I had it set, all of the bolts were very close to being the same height.

From memory:

1/8"-1/4" pitched forward provides the most HP for cutting
Level deck provides the best cut quality
1/8"-1/4" pitched rearward provides the best striping

This is not unique to Bradley, but is stated in the manual.

All this mower talk has me itching to mow some grass.

 

Update on this mower. I absolutely love this machine. Cut quality is great, machine has alot of speed, and is definitely heavy duty. I have about 20 hours on it, did my break in oil change (at 5 hours) everything went smooth. So far the only thing I recommend is to change the grease fittings. The ones the came with the mower kept breaking so I pulled all of them off and changed them out. I will update any changes in the middle of the season

 

Have you all tried running these blades on your stander pros and cons if any? I'm mulching 100% of the time


@cglarsen @x Wild Bill x

I thought I was about to change the blades now this doesn't make no damn sense. Why I the hell these blades have to be this tight and deck awkward enough that you can get a block of wood in to bite against the blade. Can you recommend a good mower lift for this stander.