Asetek WaterChill KT03A-L30 contd.
Pump
The pump is a Hydor L30 that can pump 1400 litres per hour. Like the rest of the kit, the Hydor is setup to take 10mm (0.39 inch) internal diameter tubing. Like the L20 in the KT12-L20 kit I reviewed previously, the L30 uses sucker feet to mount to the siting point and is supplied with a bracket to allow correct fitment of the reservoir.
The pump comes tethered to the control unit. The circuitry hidden in the box controls the pump and the fans on the radiator, switching them between 7V (stock setting) and 12V, should you require them to run a little faster.
Reservoir
The reservoir remains unchanged from the older WaterChill kits, so there's nothing much to say about it. It's the same Plexiglass design with 10mm inlet and outlet and rubber-sealed screw top, for gentle air release.
Radiator and Fans
The radiator is different to that supplied with a KT12. It's twice the size as the regular Black Ice Pro and it's able to hold two 120mm fans, two of which are supplied.
The fans are ADDA AD1212MS-A71GLs, sleeve bearing, running at a native 12V at 0.34A, drawing 4.08W, spinning at 2050rpm and moving 80.5cfm of air at 38.0dBA. At the regular 7V setting that equates to just over 1300rpm by my measurements on a motherboard fan header. Both fans are wired to the same connector and hookup to the 3-pin supply on the controller.
Everything else
Everything else needed for assembly of the KT03A-L30 is present and correct inside the box, including tubing and the requisite hold-down equipment, anti-algae fluid and some thermal paste, amongst other things.
The tubing was my single largest gripe with the old kit. Extremely inflexible and quite horrible to use, it spoiled the rest of the kit. Softer, more pliable tubing was definitely needed. It seems Asetek listened to customers and reviewers alike, many complaining about the tubing. Now WaterChill kits come with much more pliable and easier-to-work-with tubing, a godsend. While it's not as compliant as the tubing that comes with Zalman's Reserator 1, it's nonetheless a damn sight better than what was supplied before. Strike another prior complaint from the list.
So what's it like to setup?
