I know our trucks come with the block heater. I believe that does coolant correct? When at O'Riellys the other day I saw a magnetic oil pan heater. Just thinking winter is coming, which means plow season for me. And a warm diesel is a happy starting diesel. Was gonna get your guys/gals thoughts?

 

We have used them on the tractors when it gets cold for extended periods, but have always stuck with the integrated block heater for the diesels.

If you were going to go with just the magnetic oil pan heater, I personally wouldn't do it. That would only get your oil warm, which can help with starting, but you'd still be fighting a cold block/coolant.

The heater on our trucks does heat the coolant up, keeping the entirety of the block warm and indirectly keeping the oil warmer than it would be when not plugged up. I have found that if I plug my truck in right after shutdown, my oil will be around 90-100°F (according to my Infinity) when I go to start the truck up in the morning. I am sure that with both heaters working together you could keep your oil temp higher, but I have always found the block heater itself is more than adequate for my needs.

 

I wasn't thinking using them both in tandem. Maybe I am just thinking crazy.

 

The block heater is sufficient, it heats the coolant and I would expect that convection would move the heated coolant around. An overnight plug in and some investigation with an IR thermometer would tell you plenty if you are serious about it. How many watts is that pan heater? If the block heater didn't exist I might go with a pan heater, if it eats enough electricity it would heat the oil in the pan and convection would take some heat upward but I doubt that it would hold a candle (no pun intended) to what the electricity guzzling block heater does.

 

The block heater also heats the oil via convection through the oil cooler as the water passes through it. No need for the magnetic heater, IMHO.