Import costs are another barrier to getting ballasts shipped across the world depending on how much they are.

http://www.easycontrolgear.co.uk/BHL-50/80-K407

If you have a 240v hookup at home, and hook this up to the 230v section, you'll probably get close to getting the right current. I haven't calculated it, might wanna run the numbers yourself with regards to the 50/60hz difference.

Alternatively, spend some money on a 230v 50hz true sine inverter.

Update- actually, I think it isn't mercury. The lamp end got a slight teardrop shape. This lamp also seems to have a loose connection, so maybe the cfl ballast is striking it on hot cathode, but the arc remains when the lamp is in cold cathode mode (lamp is shaken and connection loosens). But I don't think this is the case, because my other lamp is also experiencing this on this ballast.
Also, in the picture, the spot isn't the filament structure, as it wasn't there before I lit it on this ballast. The lamp hasn't been running on it for more than 15 seconds.

One word I refuse to mispronounce by emphasizing the letter L is solder. There is a youtuber gaining in popularity that sells a sticker of a fish wearing a top hat and jacket while holding a soldering iron and it says "Colonel Lincoln the Soldering Salmon".

Sorry, the word solder has to have the L pronounced, otherwise you're saying 'sodder' which always sounds to me like 'sod her' and makes me think what poor woman are they having a rant about..? 

Here in the UK it's pronounced 'Soul-der' abnd woe betide any bloke who says 'sod her' to my face 

Seems like mercury condensation and the arc stabilising, after a few minutes it looked okay with my white one. But my F4T5 blb still has slight banding from it.

I'm looking for 10w T12 fluorescent tubes. Can be any white color below 4500k. Ballasts for 230v 50hz also welcome.

Also looking for one 15w T15 tubes, but only in warm white halophosphate or Deluxe cool white halophosphate.

Ideally ships from within the EU because of shipping cost - shipping from the USA is probably too expensive. If you are outside the EU, be aware of the customs paperwork needed

Dunno the exact specs of the cfl, but very often ghey are designed to operate at significantly lower currents (so higher arc voltages), in order to cut some of the cathode fall losses off. So the F4T5 could well be significantly underdriven (the ballast is very close to a constant current source), so suffering from cathode sputtering.

Or it also possible there is nothing wrong with the setup, the observed blackening is just a condensed mercury. If this would be the case, the "blackening" should disappear once the lamp warms up completely (after about half a hour running) and appear back only when the lamp cools down (so few minutes after power down) or even only at the next stsrtup.

I used the ballast from a 5w cfl, and even in the difference of 1 watt and being run for only a few moments, my F4T5 got a noticeable end darkening. But when I run other size of fluorescent lamps on higher wattage ballasts, they don't care much. The filaments on a cfl are smaller than a T5, so why is this happening?

M47 is 1000 watt Metal Halide. Nothing to do with halogen. Metal halides need a specific ballast to work properly. Any ballast marked "1000 watt M47 Metal Halide lamp" will work. If the lamps are still new, and you are looking to get rid of them, I might be interested as long as the shipping doesen't end up being too pricy.

I am looking to get rid of them. I'm in Hampshire, UK. Where are you?

Hello, I don't know if they are self-ballasted. I know virtually nothing about floodlight bulbs.
However, the 2nd reply in this thread seems to go some way to answering your question.