Oil Chiller

What is the Oil Chiller？

Unlike a water chiller, an oil chiller is a cooling device designed to cool oil, which is more viscous and less thermally conductive than water. It circulates oil through the system to absorb and dissipate heat, thus serving both cooling and lubricating purposes. You can use it in a variety of industrial environments to cool lubricating and hydraulic oils in injection moulding machines, machine tools, and other equipment, thereby reducing the heat generated during operation. This not only ensures processing quality but also extends the service life of the equipment.

Core Components of an Oil Chiller

Evaporator

The evaporator is equivalent to a heat exchanger and is responsible for the heat exchange between the refrigerant and the oil in the evaporator. It uses the refrigerant to lower the temperature of the oil and ensure that the refrigerant is converted to a gaseous state after absorbing heat.

Compressor

The compressor acts as the main power source within the oil chillerr, driving the refrigerant cycle and converting the low-pressure refrigerant to high temperature and pressure. You can choose between different compressors depending on the application. There are scroll compressors for high temperature control accuracy and screw compressors for higher cooling loads.

Condenser

A condenser helps to dissipate heat by heat exchange between the refrigerant and air or

water. Depending on the object of heat exchange, they can be divided into water-cooled condensers and air-cooled condensers. The air-cooled condenser enables the refrigerant to exchange heat directly with the outside air, while the water-cooled condenser transfers heat to the water in the cooling tower.

Expansion Valve

Expansion valves convert medium-temperature, high-pressure refrigerants into low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerants. In this way, the refrigerant absorbs heat efficiently and turns into a vapour again in the next cycle. The expansion valve also automatically adjusts the refrigerant flow according to the current refrigeration load to minimise unnecessary losses.

Control Panel

The control panel is the operating system used to start, stop, and regulate the oil chiller. It sends commands to individual components to perform tasks and ensures smooth and safe operation of the oil chiller. It has a user-friendly human-machine interface and prompts various warnings, allowing you to monitor the cooling process of the oil chiller at any time through the control system.

Oil Pumps and Oil Separator

Pumps are used to transfer and recover oil, drive cooled oil into the equipment, and transfer high-temperature oil to the oil chiller. The oil separator is used to separate the oil from the refrigerant, reducing refrigerant loss while providing better lubrication to the oil.

How an Oil Chiller Works？

Evaporation

When you start the oil chiller via the control panel, the high-temperature oil in the unit is pumped to the evaporator of the oil chiller. The refrigerant in the evaporator will quickly absorb the heat from the oil and cool it. The cooled oil is then re-routed to work in the equipment, while the refrigerant converts to vapour as it absorbs heat.

Compression

Once the refrigerant is converted to a vapour, the compressor draws in the vapour to convert it to a high temperature and pressure state and drives it into the condenser.

Condensation

The refrigerant vapour entering the condenser dissipates heat and cools down. Different types of oil chillers dissipate heat differently. An air-cooled oil chiller has a fan that blows ambient air towards the condenser, allowing the refrigerant to transfer heat to the ambient air for cooling. A water-cooled oil chiller, on the other hand, will exchange heat with water in a cooling tower for cooling purposes. The cooled refrigerant vapour will recondense to a liquid after releasing heat.

Expansion

The refrigerant, which is recondensed into a liquid state, is in a high-pressure state, and it is difficult to absorb heat again. The expansion valve can further transform the refrigerant into a low-temperature and low-pressure state, so that it can efficiently absorb heat again and quickly transform into a gaseous state. The refrigerant re-enters the evaporator for another heat exchange.

Advantages of Using Oil Chillers

Maintaining the Optimum Operating Temperature of the Oil

When the equipment is running, it will generate a lot of heat to cause the oil temperature to rise, and the high temperature will affect the performance of the oil and even cause decomposition. Oil chillers can efficiently cool the oil to ensure its optimal working temperature, thus improving the performance of the oil.

Lubricating Parts

Oil chillers provide lubrication to the equipment while providing heat dissipation, thus protecting the moving parts within the equipment. This not only reduces maintenance costs but also extends the life of the equipment.

Ensuring Equipment Performance

Oil chillers maintain oil and equipment at optimum operating temperatures, allowing them to perform at their best. You can use them in machine tools to improve the precision of cutting tools and in hydraulic systems to increase sensitivity. And in high-volume production, you can achieve consistent product quality thanks to the oil chiller’s stable cooling capacity.

Improve Productivity

High temperatures can cause equipment to overheat and reduce performance, or even stop running. The use of an oil chiller can prevent overheating, reduce downtime, and extend the life of the equipment while improving productivity. In addition, injection moulding, machine tool processing and other industrial manufacturing require a stable temperature. Oil overheating may have an impact on the processed product (e.g. cause thermal deformation). The chiller can effectively reduce the defects caused by heat and reduce the scrap rate, thus improving production efficiency.

Applications of Oil Chillers

Industrial Manufacturing

Equipment in industrial manufacturing generates a lot of heat during processing, especially the moving parts in the equipment. Oil chillers enable efficient cooling to maintain temperatures in the optimum operating range, thereby improving equipment performance and manufacturing accuracy. And these moving parts need constant lubrication to minimise friction and avoid damage. You can use oil chillers for both cooling and lubrication when working on injection moulding machines, die casting, welding equipment, machine tools and more.

Energy Generation

In engines, turbines or hydraulic presses in a wide range of equipment, an oil chiller controls the temperature of the oil in the optimum operating range. This prevents the oil from becoming less viscous or from decomposing, thus improving energy efficiency and providing a stable energy output.

Food & Beverage

Compared to a water chiller, an oil chiller reduces rusting of parts and prevents limescale build-up, thus maintaining a cleaner and tidier environment and reducing the risk of contamination. This is important for the food and beverage processing industry, as it can achieve ideal hygiene standards for you, thus improving product reliability and safety.