George,
My experience and observation has been that sealed batteries do last longer.
HOWEVER, one very important step in ensuring a battery will live as long as
possible is putting it into service correctly the first time. These sealed
batteries are shipped to the dealer dry. They come with their own electrolyte
that is a different specific gravity from a lead acid battery electrolyte. It
is also an exact quantity of electrolyte. The key to servicing a battery
properly is following the instructions. The electrolyte container must be
allowed to stay on the battery in the drain position for 20 minutes. Then the
battery is supposed to be left sitting open for 20 minutes, then the battery
is supposed to be charged. This procedure is time consuming and
counterproductive in the eyes of most shops or individuals selling the
batteries. Battery warranties represent one of the highest warranty costs to
manufacturers. BMW, who seemed to be warrantying batteries left and right,
cut back on their warranty policy for economic reasons. Honda Europe now
requires its dealers to purchase a $500 battery charger to make sure the
batteries are serviced properly. BTW, that $500 charger charges one battery
at a time....... but it is trick!
The examples go on, Suzuki has sent instructions similar to a tech bulletin
to their dealers again reminding them of the proper procedure to service a
new battery.
As far as brands, I like Yuasa. Generally, as you eluded to, lead acid
batteries do not physically fit in the same space as a sealed battery. I
believe this is to discourage using a different style of battery. My
recollection is also that the sealed batteries have more reserve amps than a
comparably sized lead acid battery.
If I were buying a battery tomorrow, I would buy a Yuasa stock replacement,
and service and charge it myself. I think we did a survey on battery life
once before and more than a few people mentioned getting 5 years out of a
battery, and most got at least 3. If you only got 2.5 years out of yours, I
would suspect you got flat rated on the servicing of the battery where you
bought it.
RSRBOB
