Pizzawheel

With mock-tudor "charcoal" effect beams too.

bats

Air conditioning unit. Don't cover it, if you do it might sweat and rust. There's no need to cover but if you're worried about ice falling in it then just put a board over the top.

Tirytory

See my neighbour said cover and tie bottom otherwise you get small animals trying to make a home there (?) I don't know- he's ex northern Quebec - I figured I could trust his winterising advice

bats

HVAC man dictated the above advice. We don't cover ours, anyway the animals are under the shed.

plasticcanuck

We installed a new unit last year and installer said not to cover whereas we were supplied a fitted cover for the prior unit which lasted over 20 years.
Opinions to cover or not are mixed.

Siouxie

Small animals like covered air conditioners because it keeps the snow off them and shelters them from the icy winds... a good reason not to cover them.

However, if you are likely to get your aircon buried in the snow (deep drifting/blizzards) or falling ice, then yes, it's probably better to put some kind of cover over it (even if it's only a piece of wood with a brick on top) to stop snow infiltrating the top, turning to ice and potentially damaging the coils, but only when snow is imminent. It's suggested you remove it once the danger of it being buried in snow has passed.

That's what I have been told anyway! (but who knows).

Tom Feiza - Mr. Fix-It Inc. - Simple Solutions - Heating and Air Conditioning | MisterFix-It.com

BristolUK

We've never covered ours. One nearby house has a sort of sackcloth thing over theirs and another has a sloping wooden cover.

I remember reading these things are built to withstand the winter, which is not really surprising.

We've always tried to keep a path to it cleared (in case it needs looking at) and keeping the surround clear. We replaced it a few years ago (it was old!!) and the new one is quite a bit higher off the ground which helps.

Sometimes there just comes a point where it's too much to get to, like last year

If we could get to it to put a board on and off we'd just keep it clear.

The operation of the unit seems to resolve ice issues.

Tirytory

But the small animals can do damage to inside hence the keep them out... I don't know! Where it sits the snow could be as high or higher than the unit itself...

Siouxie

Unless you can surround the whole thing including wrapping it underneath and sealing it, you won't stop them from getting in by putting a cover on it. A mouse can squeeze through a gap 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide; chipmunks not much bigger - and if there is a smaller gap, they will just make it bigger to gain entry. Sealing it would then probably cause condensation problems too.

Perhaps lean a sheet of plywood at an angle over the side and top so the snow doesn't pile up on top?

Tirytory

Thank you... It's done!

Stinkypup

Or like us, run it over the winter as it is a heat pump as well as air conditioner and so unless it gets too cold, it magically generates cheaper heat for us.... Where is the smug smiley? This will have to do

CRAY

I was woefully under-prepared for both winters in Toronto and Calgary. At least in terms of kit. Especially considering I spent some of it working outside. I got by fine however, just layering up and making sure the top layer is waterproof.
I am however a reasonably resilient 20 something year old so if you're towing a young or old family with you then my personal opinion would be to make sure that you have adequate footwear and gloves for everyone. I was fine simply layering up with hoodies and stuff with regards to my torso/legs etc down to about -25 or so but without proper gloves/boots it was unpleasant for the old pinkies and digits because you can only use the layering up tactic with them to a certain point. The more layers of gloves/socks you wear the more you cut your circulation off and so they seem to be colder than ever.
I know this thread has moved on somewhat in terms of topic but just thought I would throw in my 2 cents if the OP is still looking at all. My toes would never forgive me after the ordeals I put them through last December if I didn't

bats

Electric furnace?

Stinkypup

Damn you bats, you challenged my laziness - I then had to google heat pumps and roughly what they do

"A heat pump is a device that provides heat energy from a source of heat to a destination called a "heat sink". Heat pumps are designed to move thermal energy opposite to the direction of spontaneous heat flow by absorbing heat from a cold space and releasing it to a warmer one."

It works somehow down to about -10c and then below that it is too cold - often it isn't that cold here- it then presumably improves the efficiency of our electric furnace.... There that is it in a nutshell- I'm a Dr not a heating engineer ffs!

dbd33

In a further move toward preparedness, I've just made a list of all the episodes of Grand Designs we haven't seen.