Tutorial on Heat Exchange

Heat Exchangers FAQ's

FAQ's

Heat Exchangers

Why Heat Exchangers for Our Industrial and Mobile Hydraulic Systems?

No Hydraulic system is ever 100% efficient. The lost efficacy is heat. While the design of the hydraulic circuit has considerable effect upon fluid temperature, heat exchangers are sometimes required.

The major reasons for a system running excessively hot are

Pumps operating at higher pressures than required
Pump discharging through relief valve
Pump slip too high
Cooling inadequate [undersize reservoir]
High ambient temperature
Excessive friction
Oil in reservoir low
Pump return line too close to suction

The consequences from over heated systems are

Dramatic reduction in hydraulic oil life
Dramatic reduction in lubricity of the hydraulic oil
Catastrophic seal failure in cylinders, pumps, etc.
Premature hydraulic hose failures

The solution - Thermal Transfer heat exchangers

Why choose water cooled or air cooled?

Water cooled oil coolers usually have bundles of tubes; some of which have cooling water flowing through and others with the hydraulic oil to be cooled. As such the heat in the oil is removed by water. Usually the temperature is thermostatically regulated. Water requirements are generally 1/4 to 1/3 system oil flow.

Air cooled oil coolers are used when water is not readily available for cooling. Air coolers are less efficient than water cooled oil coolers. They can be conveniently mounted relying on electric motor fan action or come with built in AC or DC motors.

How do I select and size the right heat exchanger?

Best Way - call us. Let our Hydraulic Systems Engineers do the math and help you to your best solution. For those engineers that seek technical information please go to our Thermal Transfer Technical section.

Back to Hydraulics main page

For more information or technical assistance, call us at 1 (800) 447-4409, or send e-mail to sales@phionline.com.