Oil cooling refers to a process whereby heat is displaced from a 'hotter' object, into a cooler oil and is the principle behind oil cooler devices. The oil carrying the displaced heat usually passes through a cooling unit such as a radiator or less commonly a gas decompresser. The cooled oil repeats this cycle, to continuously remove heat from the object.

For and against[link]

Advantages[link]

• Oil has a higher boiling point than water, so it can be used to cool items 100°C or higher.
• Oil is an electrical insulator; thus, it can be used inside of or in direct contact with electrical components.

Disadvantages[link]

• Coolant oil may be limited to cooling objects under approximately 200°C - 300°C.
• Parts are hard to take out and put in after the oil is put in.

Gas cooling[link]

For the instance where an object to be cooled is greater in temperature than the range a cooling oil can remain stable, a compressed cooled gas would be used. As compressed gas is decompressed, heat is absorbed from surroundings of the gas, in particular, the hot object.

See also[link]

• Air cooling
• Water cooling
• Full immersion cooling