Appreciate the feedback.
I am Leary of the magnetic heaters. We had some on the farm back east and they never really seemed to warm anything up since they have a really small surface area and low wattage. A farmer up the road had a larger higher wattage unit but he swore it off claiming that it would burn and leave residue on the inside of the pan from getting too hot. This was on an old Massey tractor though, so anecdotal evidence at best.
What I was seeing was pad heaters like this
https://www.proheatproducts.com/product-page/model-512-csa. A larger surface area, a higher wattage rating, and certain models are thermostatically controlled to not surpass a set temp (200, 250, etc). I am curious if anyone here has run something like this?
To be 100% transparent, I am fully aware that 15w40 is a bit thick for the application. I broke the 292 in on 10w30 and she lived her first few years on a diet of that to make sure all worn in nicely. In an effort to standardize my shop across my equipment line here on the farm I pushed most things over to rotealla 15w40 (less specialized fluids I need to stock) and I chose T4 specifically for the better zinc and phosphorous specs for the flat tappet lifters. Viscosity isn't a problem for any other equipment as I have block heaters on all but the C60. I am also not trying to get block heater type heating from an external unit, just enough heat to keep the oil thin enough for cold starts. Block heater will come when I pull the cooling system apart next.
Non-scientific, but I have found that the 292 really likes the T4 in the warmer months of the year (runs smoother and quieter particularly when hot) and given that the C60 only sees an oil change every 12-18 months (based on mileage and time), I have tried to avoid changing oil every 6 months to swap to a lighter winter oil. Is this the right thing to do? Debatable, it has its pros and cons like with anything else.
