Fire Hazard

JPArbiter

Ok I never encountered this situation before. I use CFBs (Compact Flourescent Bulbs) in my house almost exclusively. one of three blubs that light my bathroom started emitting smoke and a familiar smell of Ionized oxygen.

when I removed the bulb from its socket and ran it in a test circut, it smoked more, but then stopped and stays alight just fine. I was able to run it on the circuit for an hour no problem.

My question is is the bulb safe to reinstall in the bathroom or should I just toss it?

tony_important

I'd say contact the manufacturer and see what they say about it.
They may be familiar with the problem.

AtomBomb

I would toss it. The lifespan of the thing was probably shortened by whatever happened to it anyway. Better to replace it now than later when you have a house that smells of burnt plastic.

Ruckus

Some are designed to do that.

Linky (just ctrl+f and look for "puff" or "smoke")

JPArbiter

yeah it looks like the ballast is about to blow. (one fo the fuses is gone according to manufacture)