Types of Oil Coolers:
Oil cooling is typically done in one of two types of heat exchangers, air cooled or shell and tube type heat exchangers. The amount of heat that either type of exchanger can remove is about equal, the primary difference is in the way they remove the heat. With an air cooled oil cooler you generally must supply power (or high pressure oil to turn a hydraulic motor) to drive a fan blowing air over the cooling fins. On a shell and tube type exchanger you cool the oil with water. A shell and tube exchanger can be much smaller as less surface area is needed to achieve the same performance as a radiator type exchanger; additionally, a shell and tube type unit can be placed in not only a small space, but an enclosed space whereas an air cooled unit not only requires more room to install, but you must supply it with an abundant amount of cool air not typically found in small or confined spaces. On the other hand with a radiator type exchanger, you don't have to concern yourself with a cooling water supply, as generally atmospheric air is free and generally available, water for a shell and tube type exchanger can be expensive to buy and or pump.