PP256 questions

Hi everyone, I'm a complete noob and I seem to be having trouble. While trying to stick weld with any rod I start in the middle of the recommended amperage range and see how it goes. I always end up passed the recommended amperage or higher to get a "reasonable" bead and get the frying bacon sound. Its tough to know the right amperage when your just starting but the beads look better past the upper recommended amperage. So... is this normal or is my PP256 not "calibrated" correctly?

I had my wife watch the display that was set at 120 amps and I ran a bead and she said it only dropped to 117 amps while welding.

I've had to do this with 3/32 6013, 6011 and 1/8 6011 all DCEP

Not to worry about being higher than the mid range, there are a multitude of reasons for that, voltage to the welder, length of lead, poor grounding clamp and the mill scale,brand and condition of rods etc and the list goes on, Thing is, your readout may or may not be accurate etc. Point is, such a readout and the midrange are a starting point for you to use as a reference for your machine, that's all. Two identical machines operating from the same plug can vary with each other. Your machine has it's own personality, get to know it and don't fret about it.

Personally I think your readout is correct and is showing the effect of the varibiles, so not to worry about the readout being calibrated etc.