Latest / Cool Talk with Hartzell's | Your HVAC Questions, Answered! / Should You Cover Your Air Conditioner in Winter

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Should You Cover Your Air Conditioner in Winter · Cool Talk with Hartzell's | Your HVAC Questions, Answered!

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: So you know that very specific feeling that every responsible homeowner gets in the late fall.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, when the air gets crisp.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: The air gets crisp, you've, you know, dragged the heavy rakes out of the garage, the leaves are falling, and your brain just sort of shifts into this primal, like protect the homestead mode.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: You really just want to batten down the hatchet.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: And inevitably you find yourself wandering down the aisle of your local hardware store, and uh you see them, those heavy-duty square vinyl air conditioning covers.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Folded up perfectly in the packaging.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: Promising to shield your outdoor unit from the harsh winter elements.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, putting one in your cart feels like the ultimate responsible homeowner move.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: It really does.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: But bringing that cover home and strapping it tightly over your AC unit might actually be, well, one of the absolute worst things you can do to the mechanical integrity of your system.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's true.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: We have this deeply ingrained psychological instinct to, you know, bundle things up when the temperature drops.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we put on a coat, we put a sweater on the dog, so naturally we want to put a jacket on the big metal box sitting out in the snow.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: It just feels right.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: But when we apply a mammalian instinct to industrial machinery, we usually hand that equipment a whole host of completely avoidable structural problems.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: These machines, they do not suddenly become fragile just because the calendar flips to January.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: I am so glad we are untacking this today because I guarantee a lot of people listening right now are staring out their window at a tightly wrapped AC unit, fully believing they did the right thing.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, absolutely.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: So to get to the bottom of the mechanics here, we are pulling our insights from a definitive guide on winterizing outdoor units.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: And this isn't just like a collection of internet rumors.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, not at all.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Our grounding source material comes directly from Dave Hartzall of Hartzell's Heat and Air in Kingfisher, Oklahoma.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: And let me get his credentials on the record right up front because it's important.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Dave is a Nate certified master HVAC technician with 47 years in the trade.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: And that matters so much.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: When someone has spent 47 years in the field diagnosing equipment, they aren't just reciting theory from a textbook.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: Right, they've seen it all.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: They're observing the physical aftermath of, well, decades of homeowner decisions.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: They're opening up these cabinets every spring and seeing the direct mechanical results of what works and what causes catastrophic system failure.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: And his core message today really requires a massive paradigm shift for most people.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: It does.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: It goes against our instincts.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: So our mission for this deep dive is to break down the actual physics of why those full covers fail, the biological threats they invite in, and what you, the listener, should actually be doing with that equipment in the winter.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into it.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: To start, we need to look at the biggest misunderstanding of all, which is the monumental difference between keeping water out and trapping moisture in.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, to understand the moisture problem, you really have to look at the fundamental engineering of that outdoor condenser.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: The big box in the yard.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: That metal box sitting beside your house is purposely built to live in the extremes.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it is not a delicate electronic device.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's tough.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Very tough.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: The metal cabinet, the internal aluminum coils, the massive fan blades, every single component is designed to bake in the scorching summer sun.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Take the blunt force of spring thunderstorms and withstand winter snow, ice, and freezing rain.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: It sheds water by design.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's built like um the all-terrain vehicle of the appliance world.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's a great way to put it.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: So taking a heavy vinyl cover and wrapping that unit tightly from top to bottom completely ulcers its engineered environment.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: You assume you're keeping the rain and snow off of it.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: But what you are actually doing is creating an artificial, highly destructive microclimate.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: The physics of the situation is that damp, humid air always finds its way underneath the cover from the open bottom.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell Because you can never fully seal the bottom against the grass or concrete.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: The earth itself holds moisture, the ambient winter air holds moisture.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Once that damp air rises and gets trapped under the vinyl dome, it has absolutely nowhere to go.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because you've completely suffocated the airflow.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: So you end up with stagnant wet air just sitting directly against bare metal and sensitive electrical components for months on end.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: And without that circulating breeze to dry things out, that trapped humidity breeds mold and mildew deep inside the dark cabinet.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: Which is gross, but it gets worse for the machinery, right?
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Much worse.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: It accelerates aggressive rust and corrosion on internal metal parts, parts that would have stayed completely structurally sound if they were just, you know, left exposed to the open circulating winter wind.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's basically like imagine going into a hot, humid sauna, but instead of taking a towel, you decide to wear a completely sealed, heavy plastic raincoat.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds miserable.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: You might think, well, the raincoat is waterproof, so it's going to protect me from the seam.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: But your own body heat and the ambient humidity get completely trapped inside the coat.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I see where you're going.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: The moisture has absolutely zero way to evaporate, and suddenly you've created this suffocating, destructive microclimate right against your skin.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: You are infinitely worse off than if you had just sat there and let your skin breed.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: That is the perfect analogy.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: You are forcing a machine engineered for open air to sit inside a stagnant humid plastic bag.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: You are actively facilitating the exact corrosion you were trying to prevent in the first place.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: But um, moisture isn't the only thing drawn to a dark, sheltered space.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: Our source material points out a secondary threat that comes looking for exactly that kind of microclimate.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Oh boy.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Nature's wildlife.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: Nature's wildlife.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the biological threat is often far more destructive than the rust.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: When temperatures start dropping significantly in late autumn, the local ecosystem shifts into survival mode.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: Meaning the critters are looking for a home.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Animals like field mice and squirrels, they are actively hunting for a winter habitat that meets a very specific set of criteria.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: What are they looking for?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: They need a location that is relatively warm, bone dry, completely blocked from the winter wind, and undisturbed.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: And a tightly wrapped AC unit provides all of those things.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's essentially like a predator-proof dome for them.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's a five-star winter resort.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: They get up under the bottom lip of that vinyl cover, climb inside the metal cabinet, and get right to work.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: Building nests.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: They build these elaborate nests using whatever organic debris they can drag inside.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: But the real mechanical danger stems from rodent biology.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: The chewing?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Mice and squirrels have teeth that never stop growing, which means they have a biological need to relentlessly chew on things just to keep their teeth filed down.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: And the inside of an AC condenser is basically full of perfect chewing material.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's a buffet.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: They will chew straight through the protective rubber insulation on the internal wiring, just leaving bare copper exposed.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: They gnaw on control wires that send signals from your thermostat.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's bad.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And they also frequently target the capacitor.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, wait, break that down for us.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: What is the capacitor and why does chewing on it matter so much to the machine?
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, a capacitor is essentially a heavy-duty energy storage unit, kind of like a massive battery.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: The heavy compressor motor inside your AC requires a huge jolt of electrical energy to start spinning.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Far more power than the standard wiring can deliver all at once.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like a jump start.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: The capacitor stores that energy and delivers the jump start.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: If a rodent gnaws through the wiring or terminals connected to that capacitor, the motor gets no jump start.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: So what happens when you try to turn it on?
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: The next time the system tries to fire up, the motor just sits there, unable to spin, pulling raw electricity until it physically seizes up.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: And on top of that, rodents pack the delicate aluminum fins of the outdoor coil full of nesting debris, which completely blocks the airflow.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: I have to admit, when I first read this part of the source material, it sounded like a worst-case scenario.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, an urban legend, technicians tell to scare homeowners into maintenance plans.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: Is this really that common of an occurrence?
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: It is a massive, intensely frustrating reality for HVAC technicians every single spring.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Wait, really?
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, absolutely.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: They pull that protective vinyl cover off during a routine maintenance call and find an entire family of rodents has wintered over inside the cabinet.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: The wiring is completely shredded, the capacitors disconnected, the components are nested over, and the entire system is just mechanically disabled.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so a full cover traps moisture and invites rodents.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: But according to Dave Hartzel, even if you somehow dodge the rust in the mice, the absolute biggest threat to a wrapped AC unit actually comes from human memory.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: The springtime operator error.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: This right here causes more catastrophic mechanical failure than rust and rodents combined.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: Walk us through the mechanics of this.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: How does a homeowner accidentally destroy their own equipment?
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: So picture late March or early April.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: You get one of those freak warm stretches.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like when it's suddenly 80 degrees for a day.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: The temperature spikes outside, the sun is beating down on the roof, and the inside of the home starts to feel incredibly stuffy.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: Acting purely on muscle memory, you walk over to the thermostat in the hallway and flip the switch from heat to cool.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: Wait, but the thermostat doesn't know the cover is still on the unit outside?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Nope.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: It just sends the 24 volt signal to start the cooling cycle.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: And that is exactly where the mechanical disaster begins.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: The contactor outside pulls in and the internal compressor kicks on.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: It starts pumping hot, high-pressure liquid refrigerant through those outdoor coils.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And why is that bad with the cover on?
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we have to look at the thermodynamics of how an air conditioner actually works.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't magically create cold air, it operates by removing heat from the inside of your house and dumping that heat outside.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: Right, it's a heat transfer system.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: It achieves this by pulling massive amounts of ambient air through the side coils to absorb the heat from the refrigerant, and then a giant fan blasts that hot air out the top.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: But the fan can't move any air.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: The whole thing is strapped inside a heavy vinyl bag.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's um it's like taking a hot baked potato, wrapping it completely in tinfoil, and throwing it in the microwave.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: The heat has absolutely nowhere to dissipate.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's spot on.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: The system is physically suffocated.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because the airflow is blocked, the thermodynamic heat transfer completely fails, the temperature and the pressure inside the compressor skyrocket almost immediately.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's fighting against a solid wall of vinyl.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: What happens to the internal components under that kind of extreme stress?
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: The physical breakdown is rapid.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: The lubricating oil inside the compressor literally breaks down and loses its lubricating properties under the extreme heat.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh wow.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: So metal on metal.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Without lubrication, the internal metal valves can warp or snap, the electrical components melt under the strain.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: The motor ceases.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: It just cooks itself.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: You essentially force the machine to run a marathon while breathing through a straw.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Parts that were perfectly fine that morning are destroyed simply because the machine couldn't move the air, it was engineered to move.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: So a full wrap is basically a guaranteed recipe for mechanical failure.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Pretty much.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: But this brings up a very practical question.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I am looking out at my yard right now.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: I've got oak trees dropping heavy leaves, pine needles blowing everywhere, and you know, when it snows, I get heavy icicles hanging off the gutters directly above the fan grate.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Right, the vertical threat.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: We can't just let all that junk fall down inside the machinery, right?
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: You bring up the exact right mechanical concern.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: Debris falling vertically into the top of the unit is a genuine issue.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so we do need to protect it somehow.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: Thick layers of leaves and twigs can decay inside the base pan, which ends up blocking the vital drainage holes that let rain escape.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: And what about the icicles?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Heavy icicles dropping directly into the fan grate from a roof line can physically bend the aluminum fan blades or damage the motor bearings.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: So there is a very specific safe alternative for this.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: It is called the top-only method.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: Top-only.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: So if a full cover suffocates the unit, I'm guessing the top-only method is about leaving the sides bare.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: You got it.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: It provides protection from gravity while maintaining horizontal airflow.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: You cover the top fan grate to deflect falling vertical debris, but you deliberately leave all four sides of the cabinet completely wide open to the air.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: So you are basically building a tiny roof, not sealing a bag.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: By leaving the sides open, the ambient wind can still blow laterally through the coils, dampness can naturally evaporate.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: So it dries out.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: The internal metal can dry out completely after a winter rainstorm.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: You prevent the artificial greenhouse effect entirely, and you don't create a dark, wind-blocked cave that attracts rodents.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: The beautiful simplicity of the solution highlighted in our source material is that you know you don't even need fancy specialized gear for this.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: No, not at all.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: While you certainly can use a breathable mesh top cover manufactured for this exact purpose, Dave points out you could just as easily use a heavy piece of plywood.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Plywood works perfectly.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: Just cut a square of plywood, set it right on top of the fan grate, weigh it down with a brick so the winter wind doesn't take it, and you are completely done.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: It works flawlessly.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: It provides the rigid physical shield against falling ice and leaves without interfering with the lateral airflow the unit absolutely relies on to stay dry.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: But let's say someone is listening to this and thinking, I really don't want to mess with plywood, and I definitely don't want to bother with any type of cover at all.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Which is totally fair.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: What is the ultimate easiest route a homeowner can take to protect their system?
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: The easiest route is to simply trust the mechanical engineering of the machine.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Just let it be.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Basically, yeah.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Wait until late autumn after all the leaves have finally fallen from the surrounding trees.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: Go outside and clear the accumulated debris off the top grate, reach in and pull any dead leaves and sticks out from the base pan so those drainage holes are clear.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: Simple cleanup.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And take a pair of crooning shears and trim back any overgrown bushes or vegetation that have encroached on the sides of the cabinet.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: Just clear the perimeter and secure the breathing room.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: Give the machine its required space and then simply walk away.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: Let the unit sit completely open and exposed all winter long.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: Just let it weather the storm.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: That is exactly how the engineers designed it to exist in the world.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: It will weather the snow, the heavy rain, and the freezing temperatures with zero negative mechanical effects.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so that handles standard air conditioning units.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: But um, as we pivot into the final section of our deep dive today, we need to issue a massive warning to you, the listener.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, this is critical.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: Because everything we just talked about, the plywood, the clearing of leaves, the standard winterizing logic, it applies only to straight air conditioners.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: There is a massive trapdoor in this conversation, and it's called a heat pump.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: If you apply standard winterization logic to a heat pump, you will actively destroy your equipment.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: I am trying to wrap my head around this because, you know, to look at them, a heat pump and a straight air conditioner often look absolutely identical sitting in the grass outside your house.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: They really do.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's just a big metal cabinet with a fan on top.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: So what is the mechanical difference happening inside that box?
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well, a standard air conditioner is essentially a one-trick pony.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: It sleeps all winter and then it wakes up in the summer to pull heat out of your house and push it outside.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: A heat pump, however, has a vital component called a reversing valve.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: Reversing valve.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because of this valve, a heat pump runs year-round.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: In the winter, that reversing valve physically shifts inside the piping, completely changing the direction of the refrigerant flow.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of absorbing heat from inside, it pumps freezing cold liquid refrigerant out to the exterior coils.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: And this is the part that blows my mind.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: How does a machine pull heat out of 30-degree winter air?
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds like magic, but it's just physics.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: The liquid refrigerant being pumped outside is so incredibly cold that even 30-degree ambient air is warmer than the liquid.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Oh.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because heat always moves toward cold, the refrigerant absorbs whatever ambient heat energy exists in that freezing outside air, and the compressor carries that newly captured heat inside to warm your house.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: So because it is actively working all winter long to heat the home, that outdoor fan is constantly spinning, moving vast amounts of freezing air across those outdoor coils.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: Which means if you were to wrap a vinyl cover around a heat pump in November.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: You literally smother the machine that is actively trying to keep your house from freezing.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: You cut off its only source of heat energy.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: And there is a specific mechanical cycle the heat pump runs during the winter that makes covering it instantly fatal, right?
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: The defrost cycle.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, the defrost cycle.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: Explain how that works.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: When a heat pump is pulling moisture and heat out of freezing winter air, a thick layer of ice naturally builds up on those outdoor aluminum coils.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: Makes sense.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: The machine is engineered to handle this.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: To clear the ice, the system periodically goes into a defrost mode.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: The reversing valve shifts back into air conditioning mode for just a few minutes.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: So it starts cooling the house.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the backup heat kicks on inside so you don't feel it, but essentially, yes.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: It temporarily sends hot, high-pressure refrigerant outside to rapidly melt the ice on the coils while the fan exhausts the resulting steam and freezing air out the top.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: So if a heavy vinyl cover is strapped over the unit during a defrost cycle, the exhausted steam and the violently clashing hot and cold temperatures get completely trapped under the vinyl.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: It has nowhere to go.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: The system has nowhere to send the thermal energy.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: The internal pressures spike exponentially, and you will blow out the compressor in short order.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: You must never ever cover a heat pump.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: Never cover a heat pump.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: Got it.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: But that raises a very important practical question for you, the listener.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: If these two machines look identical from the outside, how do you know which one you have?
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Are we supposed to take the cabinet apart and look for a reversing valve?
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely not.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: There's a very simple observation test you can do yourself.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, what's the test?
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: The litmus test is winter itself.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: On a freezing day in January, when your home's indoor heating system is actively blowing warm air through your vents, go look at the outdoor unit.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: If that outdoor unit is turned on, humming, and the fan is spinning while it is freezing outside, you have a heat pump.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: It is actively working to heat your home.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: Leave it completely uncovered and unobstructed.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: And if you go look at it in January and it sits perfectly silent.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: If it sits silently under a blanket of snow all winter long and only ever wakes up when the weather turns hot in July, it is a standard straight air conditioner.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: That is super helpful.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: But, and this is important, if you do that observation test and you are still scratching your head, do not guess.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: The mechanical stakes are simply too high.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: The safest bet is to ask a professional to identify the equipment during a routine fall checkup.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: Let a pro identify the machinery so you aren't gambling with the structural integrity of your HVAC system.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: Which brings us perfectly to the summary of today's deep dive.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: Let's recap the primary mechanical takeaways.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do it.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: First, your standard outdoor units are incredibly tough.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: They are engineered specifically to live in harsh weather.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: Second, strapping a full tight vinyl cover on them traps ground moisture causing rust, provides a predator-proof dome for rodents to chew your wiring, and sets you up for a catastrophic mechanical failure in the spring if the thermostat triggers the system while it is suffocated.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: Third, if you feel you must protect the fan grate from falling ice or heavy debris, utilize the top-only method.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: Deflect gravity, but leave the side coils completely open to lateral airflow.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: Just build a little roof.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: But simply clearing the perimeter debris and letting the machine breathe is always best.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, the golden rule of winterization: never, ever cover a heat pump.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: Now, if you are listening to this and thinking, I really need someone to look at my setup before the snow flies, Dave Hartzell has a specific call to action for you.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: He does.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: Dave wants to make sure you have the exact professional help you need to keep your equipment running smoothly.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to set a professional eyes on your system before the deep winter sets in, or if you simply aren't sure what kind of equipment is sitting outside your house right now, call Hartzell's Heat and Air.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: They are the folks who provided all this great insight.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: They're located at 602 South Maine in Kingfisher.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: They are a family-run operation, completely NAT certified, bringing those 47 years of experience to every single job.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: 47 years is incredible.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: It really is.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: And they hold a 4.8 star rating with over 300 Google reviews.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: You can reach out to them by calling 405-375-4822.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'll say that number again for anyone writing it down.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's 405-375-4822, or you can easily book a visit online at heartcellsheetair.com.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: Well, as we wrap up this deep dive, I want to leave you with one final thought to mull over.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: We spent a lot of time today talking about our very human instinct to nurture.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's a strong instinct.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: It is.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: When the wind howls and the snow falls, we just naturally want to bundle up the things we rely on.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: Tucking things in makes us feel cozy and it makes us feel deeply responsible.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: But take a look around your own house today.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: How many other home maintenance rituals are we doing?
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Whether it's how we treat our indoor appliances, our plumbing, or even our landscaping, just because it satisfies our human psychological need to be protective?
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's a great question.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: Are we routinely smothering our homes with good intentions rather than looking objectively at what the mechanics and the biology actually require to survive?
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: We probably are.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's definitely something to think about the next time you feel the sudden urge to wrap something in plastic just because it's cold outside.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: Stay curious, and we'll catch you on the next deep dive.