Asetek Waterchill CPU Power Kit Review - Final Preparations
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Once you have dry fit the system and have checked to see whether all hoses were cut at a 90 degree angle, you can also shorten up any of the longer hoses, since you are assured they will fit. After this you should be ready to fill up the system.
First you must mix the provided water wetter with your distilled water. Distilled water is used in water cooling systems because it is in essence pure water. Distilled water has all of the impurities removed from it. It will prevent the copper from oxidation, allowing heat to be quickly spread to the water, then is pumped around to the radiator, where it is dissipated. The additive water wetter improves heat transfer also reduces rust, corrosion and electrolysis. You need to measure out 1L of water for 10ml of water wetter, for an optimal mixture of the fluids.
10ml of water-wetter mixed with 1L of distilled water for filling the system
You will have enough mixed water left over to refill any spills or leaks. You may want to bottle and label the leftover mixed water and leave it in a safe place away from kids, just in case your system needs a little water added to it later on.
Remove all power connectors from the components in your system, especially all attached to the motherboard. Fill up the reservoir with the mixed water. Using the provided PWR_ON wire, attach it to the green and black wires on the ATX connector. The pump should turn on and all the water should disappear from the reservoir.
Slowly start pouring the mixed water into the reservoir and watch for leaks. Keep your eye on the CPU block; when it is filled with water you have a few seconds before the reservoir will start to overfill, so start to limit the amount of water to fill up the reservoir at that point. Let the pump run for a few minutes, check the water level, and fill as needed. A trick I learned is to tilt the components up to 90 degrees to allow air pockets to float up to the top of the outlets and be pushed through the system. You can tilt the radiator and then the CPU block; shaking the components also helps to remove the more stubborn air pockets.
Allow the system to run until you cannot see the tiniest of air bubbles in the lines, and make sure that the reservoir has enough water to keep the pump inlet submerged constantly.
Once all of the air pockets are removed and the smaller air bubbles have been removed from the lines, you can shut down the pump by removing the wire on the ATX connector. Inspect the lines for any slow leaks. Install thermal paste onto the CPU, reinstall the block onto the CPU, and use the mounting hardware to install the CPU correctly. Make sure all components are securely mounted in or onto the chassis, plug everything into your PSU and boot it up -- and you are finished.
Once the kit is fully installed, take a step back and look at it in all its glory.
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