Two numerical procedures are proposed for surface condenser analysis. In the first method a two-noded element is used with a variable heat transfer coefficient for each element. This method is suitable for performance analysis under various operating conditions. A four-noded element is also proposed for studying the axial heat conduction effect in tubes. In the second method, shell side flow and heat transfer are simulated in order to study the flow distribution and pressure drop characteristics. The governing equations are solved in primitive variable form. The finite element method with a Eulerian velocity correction algorithm is used. These two procedures are applied to two different types of surface condensers and the results are found to be in good agreement with experimental data. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.