Just bought a cover for the winter. Then my mother tells me she heard you
should never cover it up, that it traps moisture. It says it prevents
moisture buildup, rust, etc.
Come to think of it, I've never seen any other air conditioners covered. Is
this a gimmick? Any opinions will be appreciated.
Thanks.

"John Public" wrote in message
...
Just bought a cover for the winter. Then my mother tells me she heard you
should never cover it up, that it traps moisture. It says it prevents
moisture buildup, rust, etc.
Come to think of it, I've never seen any other air conditioners covered.
Is
this a gimmick? Any opinions will be appreciated.
Thanks.

Most manufacturers today use finishes on their cabinets that withstand the
elements and won't rust (I said MOST). One thing I have noticed is that the
units that customers DO put covers on will stay looking new longer than the
ones that do not. Yes, covers WILL hold in moisture and may cause you damage
to the electrical components in the unit. The best cover would be one that
allows air to flow through, so you would want one that maybe has a 6 inch
opening at the bottom. I've seen some covers people paid WAY too much money
for because they were supposedly "custom fitted" for their particular unit.
A small tarp and bungy cors work just as well.

Not very pretty, but the best one I have seen was a piece of plywood with a
brick on it. Simple, yes. But it kept the leaves and debris out of the unit.

John Public wrote:

Just bought a cover for the winter. Then my mother tells me she heard you
should never cover it up, that it traps moisture. It says it prevents
moisture buildup, rust, etc.
Come to think of it, I've never seen any other air conditioners covered. Is
this a gimmick? Any opinions will be appreciated.
Thanks.


If you have ice cubes dropping from off the roof of your home or other
buildings, I would build something with a slanted plyboard to protect
the unit.
Always leave sufficient space at the top of the condenser so that air
can circulate up through the condenser.

Also, keep snow from piling up around the condenser's coils, keep it
open for circulation of air through the condenser.
Never use a tight cover that closes off air circulation through the
condenser. - udarrell

--
PROPER A/C UNIT & DUCT SIZING ESSENTIAL for EFFICIENCY & BTUH PERFORMANCE
http://www.udarrell.com/proper_cfm_b...syste ms.html

I just use a piece of wood and bricks to keep it on , I have alot of old
trees overhead. With a cover I personaly would cut holes for airflow to
not trap moisture.

"John Public" wrote in message
...
Just bought a cover for the winter. Then my mother tells me she heard you
should never cover it up, that it traps moisture. It says it prevents
moisture buildup, rust, etc.
Come to think of it, I've never seen any other air conditioners covered.
Is
this a gimmick? Any opinions will be appreciated.
Thanks.



Without fail, every AC unit I have seen where the customer covers it in the
winter, has corroded electrical components inside. The outer housing looks
great, but inside is a different story. cover it with a piece of plywood and
a brick at the most.
Greg

John Public wrote:

Just bought a cover for the winter. Then my mother tells me she heard you
should never cover it up, that it traps moisture. It says it prevents
moisture buildup, rust, etc.
Come to think of it, I've never seen any other air conditioners covered. Is
this a gimmick? Any opinions will be appreciated.
Thanks.


Everyone so far has offered good advice. What I haven't seen suggested
is something that is fairly common in my neighborhood, window screens.
Some people make 2x4 frames to hold a piece of screen and to provide
weight to hold it in place. Many of these are left on the unit year
round with no operational problems. Use a big mesh though for year round
use. Others use an aluminum framed screen with a brick in the middle ot
hold it in place. Other's still screen in the entire unit to prevent
pine needle accumulation. Pine needles are especially a pain in the ass
to remove from the coil. HTH. BTW, I don't recommend that the exhausted
airflow be restricted at all when the unit is running because this'll
cost you on the electric bill, but with a larger mesh you can get by
with it without causing system problems.

hvacrmedic

Most manufacturers today use finishes on their cabinets that withstand the
elements and won't rust (I said MOST). One thing I have noticed is that the
units that customers DO put covers on will stay looking new longer than the
ones that do not. Yes, covers WILL hold in moisture and may cause you damage
to the electrical components in the unit. The best cover would be one that
allows air to flow through, so you would want one that maybe has a 6 inch
opening at the bottom. I've seen some covers people paid WAY too much money
for because they were supposedly "custom fitted" for their particular unit.
A small tarp and bungy cors work just as well.

Not very pretty, but the best one I have seen was a piece of plywood with a
brick on it. Simple, yes. But it kept the leaves and debris out of the unit.

================
Both my sons are HVAC types...and when I purchased a cover a few years
ago for my a/c unit BOTH gave me holy hell...

I listened to them...and
Now use the 2x2 piece of plywood & a couple of bricks...

Bob G.

On Sun, 18 Dec 2005 08:43:52 -0500, "John Public"
wrote:

Just bought a cover for the winter. Then my mother tells me she heard you
should never cover it up, that it traps moisture. It says it prevents
moisture buildup, rust, etc.
Come to think of it, I've never seen any other air conditioners covered. Is
this a gimmick? Any opinions will be appreciated.
Thanks.


It is Not good to cover it as this traps moisture and promotes
rusting. they are made to be outside.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++
spam protection measure, Please remove the 33 to send e-mail

On Sun, 18 Dec 2005 13:58:06 GMT, "Dr. Hardcrab"
wrote:


Not very pretty, but the best one I have seen was a piece of plywood with a
brick on it. Simple, yes. But it kept the leaves and debris out of the unit.

Maybe the AC cover would look better if it was a piece of plywood with
a GOLD brick on it. My brother-in-law might be available.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.

"mm" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 18 Dec 2005 13:58:06 GMT, "Dr. Hardcrab"
wrote:


Not very pretty, but the best one I have seen was a piece of plywood with
a
brick on it. Simple, yes. But it kept the leaves and debris out of the
unit.

Maybe the AC cover would look better if it was a piece of plywood with
a GOLD brick on it. My brother-in-law might be available.

LOL

We got plenty of those around here too.....

John Public wrote:
Just bought a cover for the winter. Then my mother tells me she heard you
should never cover it up, that it traps moisture. It says it prevents
moisture buildup, rust, etc.
Come to think of it, I've never seen any other air conditioners covered. Is
this a gimmick? Any opinions will be appreciated.
Thanks.

I made a mini gable roof using plywood scraps and left-over shingles to
cover it. Looks good, keeps leaves and other things out during the off
season. The point about allowing for air circulation didn't occur to
me when I built it. I will be putting some holes in the gable ends.

Harry K

On Sun, 18 Dec 2005 19:08:53 -0800, Harry K wrote:


John Public wrote:
Just bought a cover for the winter. Then my mother tells me she heard you
should never cover it up, that it traps moisture. It says it prevents
moisture buildup, rust, etc.
Come to think of it, I've never seen any other air conditioners covered. Is
this a gimmick? Any opinions will be appreciated.
Thanks.

I made a mini gable roof using plywood scraps and left-over shingles to
cover it. Looks good, keeps leaves and other things out during the off
season. The point about allowing for air circulation didn't occur to
me when I built it. I will be putting some holes in the gable ends.

I just use a scrap of 2x4 and plywood to slope the top away from the
house. Then I use bungie cords to tie down the plastic covers made for
ACs. The covers are open on the bottom, so water won't be trapped. OTOH,
these are thru-the-wall units.

--
Keith