Hope I don't regret putting out an opinion on this topic but.... so let's say a person lives in the northwest. he typically buys a cord of wood found locally and generally it is consistent to other cords that person may buy over time, with respect to type, density, and volume, hence, general weight. In my area, my wood pile has looked pretty much the same for years now. Same wood types, same densities, same in about all respects. I would venture to say that is the case for about everywhere in the world. I would expect the same logic to hold true in Montana.
So it matters little if you buy wood that is very dense and I buy wood that is less dense. If I conduct a test using my wood compared to wood I previously used, likely it will provide a valid test. If I wanted to compare it to wood another person in a different locale has, it might not weigh the same. So as long as Paul is using his wood and comparing it to his wood, his testing is valid. If he wants to compare his results to wood found in another region, the results may differ. BUT, the basis for this test is that Paul has stated he wants to see if he can get through a Montana winter on X amount of "his" wood, not compare the results to somebody else's wood. Trying to alter the basis for Paul's test is outside the parameter's that Paul has set for his test.
Just sayin...
