I gotta agree with those that said AC out of a nice transformer works smoother than DC out of a cheap inverter. I dunno why, it doesnt make any sense i know. But I definitely perceive it as such while im welding.
Thats why i was delighted to get one of these heavy as balls old school tombstones for my workshop that im (finally) building to keep all my toys in. This one is just going to be stationary, hard wired in like the kitchen oven and used for workbench welding. Ill take the cheap inverters to jobs off the farm.
Ill make a half assed attempt at getting a new switch or fixing the current one. If not Ill just put a electric chair style knife switch on the wall plug that itll plug into. Costs like $5 at the local hardware store. Almost has a certain style about it....