winterizing central AC unit

[Jmnhunter]

what are the steps to winterize the outside unit? rinse the inside out and let air out? then wrap with tarp?

how about in the inside where the pipe comes into the house?

[highlife4me]

The only thing I do is turn the main switch off for the compressor so it can not accidentally be turned on if it would be iced over. I hose it off maybe every year or two depending how it looks. These things are made to be outside, no real need to wrap with a tarp and what not. Never had a problem, but I have seen some that looked a little rusty with mold and mildew after being wrapped up over winter and spring.

[Smoker]

Wrapping it with a tarp also makes it a nice home in the winter for mice. We just let it open or if you want to cover the top with a piece of plywood with a rock on it to hold it in place.

[PerchPounder]

When we had ours installed new last spring they told us not to wrap it with a tarp because mice will make a nest out of the plastic insulation on the wiring. they even showed us pics of a couple nests they found.

[JohnMickish]

I do nothing to mine.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I fix ac units, among many other things, as part of my job.

Don't do anything to it. It's made to be outside. As far as the suction and liquid lines, do nothing to them either. Check the caulking around where they enter the house and touch that up if it's leaking, otherwise that's it.

Wrapping it with a tarp is inviting critters.

In the spring before things warm up but while things are warm enough to not freeze, take the top cover/fan off and hose it from the inside out to clean the condenser real nice.

[MN Shutterbug]

My last one lasted over 30 years and all I did was hose it out occasionally, as Eric suggested, and put an AC cover over it in the fall to keep leaves out of it. I also didn't let the thermostat totally control it. I'd turn it on in the evenings once it got to a certain temp and once it got down to where I wanted it, I'd shut it down for the night. I believe the reduced number of times it started and stopped helped the longevity.