The Lamp Room

Yeh I have had several of them pack up and are no longer available

I know that some electrolytic capacitors dry up with age but thankfully that is very rare when it comes to that - especially CFLS

I do make sure my CFLs are stored safely in the plastic boxes and the shed has some ventilation so no damp build-up occurs

On the other hand I make sure that my Ansell 2 tube 58W weatherproof fixture and the Fitzy LP158 have run ups periodically so that way you nearly eliminate all the issues that crop up from long term no use storage (i just need to wire up the LP158 though)

There is a Rifa PME271 capacitor in the magnetic PerfektStart ballasts. It is hidden inside the thermal relay case, right besides the heating element and the contacts

I have opened old PerfektStart ballasts and the capacitor case in them was often discolored and sometimes showing hairline cracking, but i have absolutely never seen a failed PerfektStart. Including (back in the 00's when those ballasts were only 20..25 years old) ballasts that were installed in technical service areas, shelters, etc where they are rarely switched on. They would always click to life once power is applied, and in such places with all the original tubes

(The capacitor there is connected between input L-N, but it takes N after the tube cathode on the N side. If this capacitor fails shorted it would blow the cathode)

So perhaps the relay case - while not sealed it does protect it sufficiently from the moisture. Maybe the capacitors in little used ballasts were not yet very cracked at the time either, while in ballasts that were in everyday use the heat of the relay would keep the capacitor dry so it keeps going even though its case is cracking