Hello, I am new to this board and mainly signed up for help with an issue that you guys seem to know more about than anyone. I never gave fluorescent lighting or PCBs a second thought until recently. In our kitchen we have a fluorescent light with 2 circular bulbs and a ballast almost identical to this: http://www.lighting-gallery.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=1780&pos=2&pid=57389. The only difference is that the model number doesn't have the "TC-P" part at the end, its white instead of black, and it doesn't say thermo-matic. The numbers are all the same (118 volt, 60 cycles, 1.15 amp, open voltage 330). It doesn't say high power function on it. Its very old and the house we rent was built around 1974. I am very concerned now because this light has been exposed with no cover due to it breaking apart several years ago, and the cloth wires leading into the ballast have always had some sort of black gunk on them. I assumed it was just from overheating but never even gave pcbs a second thought until very recently. I have a little girl so as you can understand, I'm considerably worried after spending an evening on google.

My hope is that this is an NPR like the one displayed and that there is no PCB capacitor. The company was no help, only sending out a standard corporate response. I've also read that the tar used to fill the ballast that leaks out can contain pcbs. is this part of the manufacturing process of the tar or does a leaking capacitor contaminate the tar? Obviously we are going to have this replaced, I am just concerned with contamination over the past 5 years.

Thanks for any help you guys can offer.

Do you have a photo of the ballast?

Yes

That ballast since it not labeled high power factor
Meaning it seems to lack power factor correction Cap
But I do know It old enought to lack Thermal Protection
Thst what P means in model code in newer ballast
Protected. Mesning having a thermal cut out switch
But your ballast lacked this. U will need take temp
Of ballast to make sure not  overheating. overheating
Cause by shorted turns of winding in ballast when enought of winding goes it would run into
Thermal run away.  that only main hazard
With old ballast.

Tar can leak from a ballast if it overheats, though if it's minimal it may have been simply due to failing bulb rather than a true malfunction.  Also, sometimes old wire insulation can become discolored and gummy due to heat over time.  The ballast probably does not contain a significant amount of PCBs, though I can't say for sure that the amount is zero.  It does not contain a power factor correction capacitor.  It doesn't look like a major tar leak anyway.  I wouldn't worry about exposure.  I probably shouldn't even mention the possibility of asbestos in the cloth wiring or lead in the paint.  The fact is most older homes are going to contain some potentially hazardous materials.  Sometimes remediation is needed for these, but it's important not to overreact either.  I agree that it should be replaced.  In fact, the most significant risk here would be a fire hazard.  The wiring is already aging, and exposure from the UV light of the lamp will degrade it further with time.  If the ballast is overheating with regular use, that would also add to the fire risk, though I don't think the amount of discoloration seen here is a clear sign of a short, though it's not possible to be certain by appearance alone.

That's a good old boy. Kinda looks older than the 70s, but the fact that it has cloth wires and is white instead of black is mildly interesting. Yeah, I'd go with taking the temp of the ballast. Anything 130-145°f is a good temp range for typical rapid start ballasts.

Thanks for all your input everyone! So I can probably assume its not poisoning us then? I know next to nothing about this, how do you determine whether or not it has a power factor correction capacitor? Is it something that is indicated on the label? and if so, could this be so old that it just isn't indicated?  I went through a time period where it blew 3 bulbs in about a year and a half. I think we were getting a lot of surges at the time and were blowing bulbs elsewhere in the house. We still blow them frequently on our range. But I remember seeing this residue much earlier.I don't know how much the picture shows, but the black gunk extends about 2 inches and the rest of the cloth is stained looking.

If your lamps don't last, you probably have partially shorted windings (not enough ballasting) if this is the only fixture that is problematic. If other fixtures (both fluorescent and other types as well) burn through lamps, measure your mains voltage. Anything higher than 125-130V could be the problem. Contact your power company to get this adjusted.

Fluorescent lamps are fairly tolerant of surges.  Frequent burnouts may occur for several reasons.  It could be a ballast issue resulting in too much or too little current through the lamp.  It could also be due to cathode heating voltage not being present on one or more sets of pins.  This can be caused by a ballast or wiring issue and will result in one end darkening quickly plus unreliable starting.  It may also be that the tubes haven't actually failed but the ballast is unable to break down the initial high resistance through the lamp.  This can be due to the ballast not delivering sufficient open circuit voltage, or again the lack of cathode heating.  Having a grounded fixture helps with starting also.  In short, there are many reasons why fluorescent lamps might have trouble starting.  Sometimes it's simply defective or low quality bulbs.

As for power factor, your ballast states the line current is 1.15A.  If high power factor, the wattage would be about 124 (1.15 * 120 * 0.9).  If normal power factor, the wattage would be about 70 (1.15 * 120 * 0.5).  70 watts of total power is much more reasonable than 120+ for 54 watts of lamp power (it's more than 54 due to ballast losses, but not way more).  Higher power factor has the benefit of reducing current without reducing power.  If that was HPF, you'd be using way to much power, so we can assume there's no power factor correction.

Even if that ballast contained PCBs, if it was malfunctioning to the point where it was emitting significant airborne concentrations of the chemicals, you'd know.  For one, the ballast would almost certainly be no longer working, and you see much more tar plus liquid PCB oil (the release of which would have been followed by smoke and failure).  In addition, PCBs have a foul odor.

I'm not sure myself if the black staining of the leads is tar soaked up by the cloth, or if it's from the rubber insulation underneath the cloth jacket that's bled through.  Maybe another member here would have a better idea.  Either one could be suggestive of high heat, but might merely be a consequence of age and high usage.  Without a temperature and line current reading it's hard to know if the ballast is currently running on spec.

If the stuff coming out appears dry, this means that even if it was evaporating something when it first came out, it already dissipated long ago and there is nothing emitted from it to the air anymore



The power factor of the ballast can be calculated from the electrical info :

Lamp power : 32W + 40W = 72W

Ballast power : Assume about 15W for most ballasts like this

Together : 72W + 15W = approx 87W

Apparent power : 118V * 1.15A = 136VA

Power factor : 87W / 136VA = about 0.64

In power factor, things around 0.5..0.6 are considered low, 0.9 and above are considered high. In commercial use (large circuits with many lights), a capacitor is added inside to improve the power factor (higher is better). In ballasts for home (few lights on a circuit at most) the power factor does not matter, so the capacitor is not included to keep the ballast price down



Fluorescent lamp ballasts come in 2 types :

 - Electro Magnetic (this one) : They are sturdy devices, which by themselves stand up well to surges and to bad power in general. If supplied with too high or too low voltage, this will cause overpowering or underpowering of the lamps respectively. If lamps are overpowered or underpowered (significantly enough) continuously for long term, this will shorten the lamp's life. Momentary surges dont affect Fluorescent lamp life significantly

 - Electronic (most modern ones) : They can get damaged by surges, but stand up well to continuous slightly too high or too low voltage. They have better control of the output, that is, too high or too low voltage in the supply (as long as the ballast can handle it) won't affect as much the power supplied to the lamps

So, bad lamp life can be caused by..

 - Bad lamps (defective or just bad quality), try another brand

 - Bad connection inside the lantern, between ballast and lamp

 - Too high or too low voltage (low is only bad if significantly too low, and only for Fluorescents. No problem for Incandescents)

 - Failing ballast (this will have other signs like overheating)

 - Surges : Not for Fluorescent lamps with ballast in the luminaire. They do affect CFLs (they can damage the electronic ballast inside) and everything else that plugs directly into 120V without ballast though

What are the surges you describe like ? How long (are they like momentary blink or continuous higher or lower voltage than normal) ? How you noticed them ?

Take a look at all connections in your panel (and would be good if you checked in the meter box and main supply connection too, but this may require calling the power company), see if something is not tightened well or shows signs of overheating

(if you have Aluminum wiring, dont just poke a screwdriver into every connection to see how tight it is. Disturbing it may start the problems common to it. But dont stay back from opening covers and looking inside)

Thanks for all the great info! That's a huge relief to know.  I have an electrician coming to change the entire lighting fixture, because it doesn't even have a cover anymore. I just was curious if we were possibly exposed to PCBs for the past 5 years. I called electricians and the manufacturer for answers but you guys were far more knowledgeable than anyone. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into your responses and they were far more detailed than I expected to receive. Thanks again!

I know very little about electricity, and since we keep blowing bulbs, I asked our property's caretaker what was causing it and he said they were caused by power surges. We never noticed bulbs getting brighter or flickering. Just very frequent burn outs. Remember, I know nothing about this.

What fixture are you replacing it with?

Kinda sounds like the ballast is on its way out. Does it run loud or hot?
Also re the tar on the wires by the case. It's prolly just excess from manufacturing, the wires could've been in the case slightly and then yanked out a slight bit while the tar was solidifying.
If you end up replacing it, I'd prolly be interested.

I am not sure what to replace it with yet, but the caretaker is coming over this weekend to discuss options. Any suggestions?

I also have a Sylvania lighting fixture in the basement that takes 8 foot fluorescent bulbs. Both have burnt out in the past year and I havent replaced them because I hardly use the basement aside from laundry, and there are other light sources down there as well. Each bulb got more and more dim and you could see movement inside the bulb before they failed, probably 6 months apart. The fixture is probably from the 1970s as well. It cleary says HPF on it. The ballast is hidden inside a panel that runs the length of the fixture underneath the bulbs. I haven't noticed anything dripping from it but don't know if it would because the panel is tight and I don't remember any strong odors either.I often cant breathe through my nose anyways so I dont know if I would notice. So while we are on the subject, is this one a risk of a PCB leak? I tried to store gasoline down there but the fumes come up through the floor. Would PCBs do the same? Am I way too worried about this?

Are other lamps Incandescent ? If yes, it comes down to pretty much 2 possibilityies :

 - Cheap lamps of low quality

 - Your voltage is continuously too high

The voltage you can measure. If for example you get 130V instead 0f 120V, that is the answer..

Do you have any lamps on a dimmer ? Are they affected too ? (do you often use the dimmer on the max brightness setting ?)



Open the Fluorescent lantern and check inside :

 - What is the type and electrical info of the ballast ?

 - What is the type and electrical info of the lamps ? What sort of connection they have on each end ? (2 pins - G13, 1 thick pin - Slimline, Black Plastic connector with 2 embedded contact pads - R17d)

 - Does anything look ok on the ballast ?

Fluorescent lamps with Slimline and R17d connections (that is most 8ft lamps in the USA, the G13 is common for shorter lamps) are taken in and out by pushing the lamp to one end, into a springy socket in the lantern (check on which side the springy socket is, you can tell by appearance). G13 is taken in and out by 1/4 turn

In this case, burning up Fluorescent lamps might be caused by all what we mentioned above, but also think of this :

 - You have not mentioned how far ago the lamps were replaced the time before that. Have they been used a lot by the previous owners and just their time is up ?

 - Sometimes 2 or more Fluorescent lamps with different electrical properties come in the same length and with the same connectors, so a lamp might fit into the lantern but be incompatible with the ballast. If this happens, it is likely that the lamp won't last long on the wrong ballast, and it might damage the ballast on the way



As for leaks and/or PCB's, just look inside

If there is no smell its good

PCBs (we are talking about Polychlorinated Biphenyl contained in oil, which is used as electrically non conductive liquid for submerging parts like capacitors, not about Printed Circuit Boards which are also called PCBs) are nasty stuff, but even there the only reaction really needed is to throw it away, wash hands (because it gets into the body more efficiently through food and not through air), and vent the room

Leaked quantity from one ballast would not do anything, especially so if it leaked in a room where nobody normally goes to and only small part of it got up into the house