On Wed, 28 May 2008 18:11:25 +0100, bof wrote:

I bought five Homebase fluorescent strip lamps a year or two back, a
couple of months back the ballast in one exploded with a big bang and
clouds of acrid, PVC smelling smoke; the same's just happened to a
second.

2 out of 5 and fairly close together is grounds enough, in my book, for
them all to be returned as "not fit for purpose". Always assuming that
your mains supply is within tolerance max allowable is about 254v.

--
Cheers
Dave.