Here are the mixing directions for the chemicals, plus off the shelf products to purchase so you can mix in small quantities.

The two chemicals should be obtainable locally in small quantities fora low price.

The ACID component consists of hydrochloric acid 31 degree baume, you can usually purchase it by the gallon from any hardware store under the name "Muriatic Acid", it's used for cleaning mortar from bricks and etching concrete.  You can also get the same thing from a swimming pool store used to adjust swimming pool pH, but those places charge a little more.

The ACID FORMULA used in recharging is 14 degree baume.  Basicallyit's a 50/50 mix of water and acid.  If you use a 12 ounce plastic bottle,add 6 ounces of the acid FIRST and then add 6 ounces of water.  DO NOTADD THE WATER FIRST.....

DO NOT BREATH THE SMOKE THAT COMES FROM THE BOTTLES WHEN MIXING. The acid is a very strong concentrate.  It is a little safer one dilutedto recharge ratios.

The BASE component may be a little harder to find, I know I have told a couple other fellow's how to mix it and they found different brandnames as well as the brands we have here.

Before I go on, I want you to be very very careful when you mix the BASE component chemical with water, very high heat is produced as the reaction of mixing with water and you must be prepared to cool the capped bottles down before the heat burns your hands.

The BASE component can be purchased at many groceries stores, most hardware stores and almost all plumbing companies.  It is "LewisRed Devil Lye" or any other brand of LYE that is PURE LYE, not draino or drain cleaning mixed up formulas, must be pure lye.

The FORMULA is a little wierd in the way you measure it.  Thisis a granulated solid crystal and is sold by weight, usually in 12 ouncecans. We use 3 ounces by liquid measure to get the right specific gravity to allow separation of the resins.  Thus you only get about three12 ounce bottles of the recharge fluid out of a can, even though the can is12 ounces by weight.

AGAIN, the bottles must be DRY.  Have the cap for the bottle athand. Fill a sink or bucket with enough cold water to cover the bottle.

Measure, using the liquid measure scale on your measuring cup, 3 ounces by liquid measure of the Lye Crystals and place this in your bottle. The bottles should be 12 ounce plastic bottles, by plastic I mean the kind that looks like plastic milk jugs.  Sorta frosty looking, not clear.

After you have the 3 ounces of LYE in the bottle, place the lid to the bottle in one hand and hold the bottle near the top in your other hand.

Fill the bottle close to full, screw on the cap, and drop it into the cold water bucket.  Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. You can reach into the bucket and squeeze the side of the bottle to break the crystals that will form a solid, but they will dissolve without you doing that, but slower.  I shake the bottles during the 15 minutes.

You will notice that the bottle gets a vacuum in it, no it doesn't swell up like you would think, reverse psychology of science I guess. Well anyhow, after the bottle feels cool enough to hold, loosen the cap and let some air in, if it doesn't get too hot, you can go ahead and fill it the rest of the way with water or to the 12 ounce mark if you are using a larger bottle.

Always allow the BASE chemical mixture to sit at least 24 hours before using it to recharge a DI column or you may get heating of the DI resin.

If you have built a separated bed DI system, you can dilute the BASE mixture up to 25% and save some dough.  But if you are working with mixed bed cylinders it must be 3 ounces Lye by liquid measure to 9 ounces of water or you will not get the resins to separate.  Too much Lyeand the blue resin will float also.

The ACID comes in gallons for about 3 bucks a gallon here and the BASE crystals come in 12 ounce plasti-cans for a little over 2 bucks, some stores here charge 3 bucks but those are far and few between.

I wish I could remember some other UK trade names for the LYE but I'm sure you'll find it, everyone else has.

Don't forget to change your carbon about every 5th recharge to keep chlorine from passing through into the resins and bleaching out the color indicator of the cationic resin.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Again, be very carefull. DON'T BREATH THE FUMES FROM THE ACID WHILE YOUR MIXING IT.
AND DON'T GET BURNED, HEAT OR CHEMICAL WISE FROM THE BASE OR THE ACID. FOLLOW ALL THE MANUFACTURERS PRECAUTIONS, THIS STUFF CAN BLIND YOU.....

Oh, I might warn you of a weather phenominon that can and probably will occur in your home.  As you pour the acid and or add water tothe bottle, you may notice that the air in your home becomes a white cloud. Even in the most remote parts of the house.  This air is not harmful,but it's just one of those things that happen.  I turn on the exhaust vent onthe stove and it still happens from time to time, depending on the temperature of your home, usually between 68 and 74 and a humidity of 45 to 60, which is the ideal temperature and humidity to create a white cloud as the ACID sucks ions out of the air.  That's what I wanted to say, it takes from rather than puts into the air and causes the ion imbalance and the cloud.

What's really wierd is that you will not usually see the cloud in the room you are in, but rather in remote parts of the house as the ions are sucked out to the next room in the chain toward where you are.

I think that about covers the only scare you might get from mixing your own chemicals.