Should I cover the A/C unit in winter or leave it open? I keep going back and forth on this

Went by my duplex in Phoenix last weekend and noticed all three tenants have their A/C units wrapped in tarps and zip ties. I get wanting to protect them from dust, but I've heard that traps moisture and rusts out the coils faster. My old landlord in Tucson swore by leaving them bare, said a little rain never hurt anything. But then I see guys at Home Depot buying those fancy $50 covers every November. What do you all do for your units? I'm leaning towards leaving mine uncovered but I don't want to wreck a $4,000 condenser over being lazy.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_dylan7d ago

Rhetorical question: why pay for a replacement when trapped moisture does it for free?

terry_lewis216d ago

Oh man, YES. I went back and forth on this same thing for like three winters straight at my old place in Flagstaff. Covered one year, didn't cover the next, found a lizard nest inside when I uncovered it in the spring. That moisture trapped under a tarp is no joke, I pulled mine off one March and the bottom plate was already starting to rust. Honestly, I think the dust and crud from leaving it bare is way less damaging than the condensation that builds up under a cover. My neighbor swore by those fancy covers but his unit died two years before mine did. I just take a leaf blower to the coils once in the fall and call it good.

the_lee6d ago

Man, I feel your pain on that one, it is such a toss up every time.