Maintenance-free lead-acid cell

A rechargeable maintenance-free normally sealed lead-acid cell is disclosed having a multilayered electrolyte-retaining separator composed of outer highly porous and compressible microdiameter glass fibrous layers, which contact the positive and negative plates, and a sandwiched substantially dimensionally stable microporous layer having, compared with the glass fibrous layers, a substantially higher resistivity and lesser thickness. The electrolyte is proportioned within the cell and separator so that the bulk of the electrolyte in the cell is contained within the pores of the multilayered separator, and distributed between the layers of the separator in a preferred manner.