"James Sweet" writes:

"James Sweet" wrote in message
news:hx9tb.200610$Fm2.189138@attbi_s04...
[...]
I should add that older preheat ballasts had this as well, hence the reason
that they contained PCB's, which were used in the capacitor.

Ack! I guess this mean this capacitor sitting beside me might well
contain PCBs. Luckily, it seems to be intact (but I'll certainly keep
it in an outdoor cupboard now, just in case). Will my local dump know
what to do with it, do you think (I'm in the UK)?

The light is certainly an old one, not the instant start variety, and
for all I know, it might be 35 years old. It's about 13 cm long,
excluding contacts, and this is what's printed on it:

AME C.22451
I.I.C. CAPACITORS LTD
5.0 MFD +- 10%
250V RMS WKG
50 C/S -25 TO +50 C
INTERNAL RESISTOR
FUSE FITTED


I presume that's *milli* farads, since the thing is so big?

Actually, the "fuse fitted" bit has me confused: why was it causing
shorts if it has a fuse?!


John