Hi,
Maybe leak was wrong term to use, as in modern batteries there is no fluid sloshing around, therefore if punch a hole in the side nothing will flow out and, if you have avoiding damaging the plates, then the battery will still work.
The thing with modern batteries is that, although they are often labeled as 'sealed for life' this is not strictly true. All of these type of batteries have the potential to produce gas, this gas can build up enough pressure to turn a regular shaped battery into the shape of a rugby ball, (american football for our friends across the pond). Because of this every battery I have ever worked with are fitted with pressure relief valves on each cell. On car batteries these are usually hidden under labels or a blanking plate. If the battery gasses this can then condense and the resulting fluid is very corrosive.
My original post was just meant to be a reminder that these batteries, whichever way round you fit them, are not fit and forget, easily done when they are tucked away under a board in your boot.
On a more positive, no pun intended
, note having looked at Odyssey's website I noticed that they are produced by EnerSys, these are one of the better manufacturers of batteries, their spec also shows that the plates are 100% lead, which is another good sign of a quality battery.
Chris.