Maintaining a maintenance-free battery

[TonyMS]

I have a 2 year old Varta LFS 105N dual purpose battery. Recently it has started to lose charge overnight, dropping from 12.8V to 12.2V with only a minute LED anchor light as load. I suspect the water in it has evaporated, with the recent daytime temperatures reaching 37C.
Is it possible to prise the battery open and top it up without destroying it?
TonyMS

 

[Refueler]

Don't know about that particular Battery - but many maintenance free batts have a 'plate' over the cells openings that can be prised up .... BUT you risk that 'plate' will then not lock back into place.

That 37C should not have caused it to fail .... imagine what temps you can get under the bonnet of a car etc. and batterys sit next to engine still on many cars ..

 

[V1701]

I'm sure I've prised covers off batteries before now & underneath there are the usual screw off caps...

 

[Poignard]

The last one I prised off had a long strip with bungs for each cell moulded onto it.

I started prizing carefully from one end and it came off with no difficulty.

 

[Daverw]

I’ve had a couple with the magic eye that has the green ball in, you can unscrew and top up

 

[Daydream believer]

Do not take the cover off. Drill holes. Fill with a syringe. Then put a short self tapping screw or plastic bolt in each hole. Or plug with a piece of dowel or nylon rod.

 

[TonyMS]

Thanks for these responses. So far, I've found the force needed to prise off the cover on my Varta is more than I think it wise to apply. I'm hoping for a reply from someone who has successfully opened a Varta. I suspect that the manufacturers have taken rather extreme measures to make this difficult. Drilling holes may be the way to go.