Hmm IIRC, the light that i'll hopefully be getting tomorrow form thr restore had a pair of these. One has stickey tar loaded all over the label side of it, but none on the fixture itself. Odd how the tar didn't harden. I hope it didn't leak PCBs since i did touch it.

I've heard that PCB's are more an issue if there's a sorta clear-ish semi-liquid substance rather than just tar.
Personally I'd 'junk' that ballast to be safe, it might be fried anyway..

Yeah the other ballast looks fine, though the leaked ballast cooked the insulation of a 1" or so section of one of the yellow leads on the good ballast. Tape will cure that though and somday yellow heatshrink... I wouldn't put the good GE in everyday use though. I'll put the spare Advance and Valmont Electric ballasts inside.

Depends, the GE BonusLine ballasts are VERY reliable...I have one in use that's lost quite a bit of tar and still works fine and is in daily use...
DON'T JUNK THAT OTHER BALLAST IF IT'S STILL IN WORKING ORDER!

Well, i just didn't get the fixture. I took a closer look at it and it's missing parts and the door hinges are a pain. If i go back sometime and it's there I'll consider removing the good ballast and cashing it out there. They'll probably just charge me a random price for the ballast.

What sort of parts? If the fixture is cheap I'd buy it just for the ballast(s)

Heh people have been taking parts out of fixtures at my local Restores so they put up a sign telling people to stop disassembling their light fixtures.

I have the exact same ballast too, I got it from Restore in Buffalo, NY.

i have been known to remove rare lamps from junk fixtures

Well, it's missing the ballast cover, which is a flat piece of sheet metal. It's designed to be recessed in a drywalled ceiling. The fixture was $5. I kinda still want the fixture but it's too bulky anyways and I'd rather save the room i have for "better" fixtures. Maybe i'll try to buy just the lens and the good ballast lol. The ReStore is a good 45 minutes to an hour from my house depending on traffic. the next time i'm going I'm bringing my camera since there are a ton of mercs on Rte 2 going to the ReStore including that integral PC OV-20 Dave mentioned, the only M-1000 i've seen on a utility pole here, a few MV 25s, MV M-400R2s, MV M-400 split doors, and a lot of OV-25s.

Good luck!