"Bob" wrote

a. Live in New England; lots of snow in winter.
Do folks usually put a cover of some sort over the outside Condenser in
the winter ?


I live in New England also. I've never seen a unit covered in winter. You
don't want to provide a well protected place for mice or chipmunks to nest
and you don't want to hold in moisture to rust stuff.

I covered my grill in the past and won't do it any more for the above
reasons.



b. He mentioned that there is a small heater in the unit that is on all
the time; even if the unit is not actually running

Does it make any sense to shut off the 220 V power in the winter to the
outside Condenser, thus killing the heater ?

Turn the power back on at least a day before first use so the heater does
warm up the oil.