Is my cell dying?

[JimK]

Definitely, I would try acid cleaning. I am surprised you went this long without an acid clean. That is usually the first thing I do when I detect a decrease in cell output. Manual cleaning only gets the deposits you can see which is basically the ends of the cell. The internals are not easily cleaned manually.

Also, I clean my cell with acid several times during the season and the cell is over 7 years old and still going strong. I don't use full strength (1:4) and just long enough until all the fizzing stops.

Thanks. That gives me the confidence to try an acid cleaning. I was hesitant before because the manual had me thinking that acid washing could harm the cell, hence the instruction to only use acid if scaling was "severe".

I do need to order a cleaning stand so I don't have to immerse the cell into a bucket.

So the solution you use is one part muriatic acid with 4 parts water?