Doug B - geez, as others may be implying that 5w30 doesn't seem appropriate to me. Temps here are hardly ever below 30, and if you're mowing grass up your direction I suspect you're talking 50+ degrees minimum, except maybe Oct. I ran it a few time in CT when temps were below 30 and with my 14hp 1450, after about 15-20 minutes run time the oil looked nearly like water and would just run off the dip stick. I quickly switch back to running straight 30W but I kept my unit in an unheated partially insulated garage attached to the house that was probably hardly ever below 30 even when it was zero outside. Would that contribute to the dipper breaking off? Seems unlikely and more possibly due to the scratch, ding, fine line, etc, mentioned by others. Question - since this is the 2nd time the rod failed did the dipper break "both times" or was it just the last?
Now, with regard to your pics that Kraig requested, I vote for some of your wife, but they should be posted over in Geezer's Garage (which requires special request access, but you gotta have the head, guts, stamina, to take any and all comments).