Big loss turning into a win: saved a Trane XR install from a DIY disaster in zone 5

Up in Minnesota, zone 5 winters are no joke, and I got called out to this house where the homeowner tried installing a Trane XR16 heat pump himself after watching some YouTube tutorial. He botched the line set connections bad, refrigerant everywhere, and the thing wouldn't even cycle on. I quoted him $2800 to fix it properly, including evacuating the system and recharging with R-410A, and he bit because the unit was already toast from the improper install. Turned it around in a day with my Milwaukee tools and charged the right superheat levels, now it's running like a champ and the guy's singing my praises on NextDoor. Felt like a total win after the initial headache, but damn, these DIYers are gonna bankrupt themselves before calling pros. Saw a similar story in the HVAC Techs Network group last week.

Zone 5 DIYs are the worst, had one last month where they drilled through the coil.

Good on you for turning it around, I would've walked if it was that mangled.

Trane XR is solid, but yeah, R-410A leaks suck. What's your go-to evac pump?

Minnesota winters hit different, glad you nailed the install. FB group had a rant about similar BS yesterday.