saw an automatic one with the "rolson" lable on,£35 +vat,said solar powered and showed where to put the batteries,i assume you should be able to look straight through it when youre not sparking up,i couldnt see much through this one,what does the team think?

My one stays dark till i turn it on mines a speed glass

Yup...sounds right John.. Solar power means it charges the batteries. It will be dark until you switch it on.
They stay on for about 20-30mins after you last welded/struck an arc, then switch themselves off again to save the power in your batteries.

HTH Fozzie

Both mine are solar powered.
no on off switch.
its slightley tinted till you strike the arc.

cheers peeps,looks like another trip to maccess is on the cards

mines getting a bit slow to turn on, i had a blind spot when i finished welding earlier! gone now thankfully

I have one I got from ebay a wail back work great I can see through it when not welding through I adjustment, however I was told that the prtection you get from it whilst welding is very low so I am limiting it use, can anyone confirm??