Tried my hand at recharging DI resin today. Cost only about $10. $5 for Lye and $5 for gallon of Muratic acid.
1. wear lab goggles, I wore them
and I'm glad I did. They say "be careful" but this stuff is no kidding dangerous
2. wear gloves.. I didnt and wished I did, have a water hose close to wash off if you get it on your hands
3. spend the money to get some kind of way to drain from the bottom. The turkey baster method sucks
4. Bandanna in colander works great and is cheap.
5. a little bit of water while you are packing resin in the chamber help it settle and you can get it tighter
6. You will lose some in several steps so start with more than you need for one cartridge.
Overall it wasn't too bad. Just follow the directions on reefkeeping mag and be carefull playing with acids and bases. Took a few hours (it has to sit for one hour).
results: dark purple resin again, and 0 TDS.