Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Sep 13, 2012 4:43 pm I am looking to replace my beloved and efficient Morso slow combustion wood heater with a gas log fire (only because I am sick of stacking and carting wood and emptying ash). The free standing Lopi Cypress is appealing and would be easy to install on my corner hearth utilising the existing vertical flue through roof location. I already have central gas heating but it is not sufficient to heat my open plan living/dining/hall area which is 180sq metres in total area. I have done everything I can to insulate the area but there is significant heat loss through single glaze windows and flat raked ceiling with little insulation. So I need additional heating for that area. The Lopi brochure says the Cypress heats up to 185 sq metres. It gets only a 3 stars energy rating (does this mean it is more expensive to run or less effective in heating???). There are other gas log fires that might be suitable but I like the styling of the Cypress. The Lopi dealer here does not have a Lopi Cypress installed and I cannot find any homeowner who has a Cypress who could give me independent advice. If anyone from a place with a cold winter like Canberra's has any advice or comments on the Lopi Cypress I would be very interested to hear from you. I would also be interested in other gas log fire recommendations for efficient heating of a large area. Hydronic heating would be my preference but it is too expensive and difficult to retro-fit. Thank you. Re: LOPI CYPRESS GAS LOG FIRE 2Sep 20, 2012 8:48 pm I have been looking at gas log fires and also like the looks of the lopi. I am heading to the only store in WA that sells them on saturday as they have one one display, all the way down in mandurah though. The guy at hearth house reccomended it as a good, but expensive, unit. He said the next best one to get would be a Regency FG38 (the remote controlled one) which he said will do similar to the lopi but the styling isnt as good although it is cheaper ($4100 installed vs about $6k for my place). Be interested in anyones view on the regency and the lopi. Re: LOPI CYPRESS GAS LOG FIRE 3Sep 23, 2012 11:20 am Had a look at the Lopi Cypress yesterday, they only had it on display with the pebbles but it looks great. It throws out a lot of heat on full blast and the flue gets quite warm, salesperson said you will get radiant heat from flu and convected from blower. The fan on full is moderately noisy but its a low frequency sound so it wouldn't be to bad. With the remote control and the associated control circuitry the gas is ramped up and down (flame height as well) to maintain set temp. The unit has great heating capacity but I suspect that it will cost almost twice the dollars to run compared to a wood heater after talking to salesman who was quite honest, it also will cost twice as much installed (6k vs 3k) as a wood heater. It is without a doubt the best looking gas log fire I have seen with great visibility of the flames and feature set inside thanks to the large glass panels that cover 3 sides. Decisions...decisions.... Re: LOPI CYPRESS GAS LOG FIRE 4Sep 23, 2012 2:22 pm venno Had a look at the Lopi Cypress yesterday, they only had it on display with the pebbles but it looks great. It throws out a lot of heat on full blast and the flue gets quite warm, salesperson said you will get radiant heat from flu and convected from blower. The fan on full is moderately noisy but its a low frequency sound so it wouldn't be to bad. With the remote control and the associated control circuitry the gas is ramped up and down (flame height as well) to maintain set temp. The unit has great heating capacity but I suspect that it will cost almost twice the dollars to run compared to a wood heater after talking to salesman who was quite honest, it also will cost twice as much installed (6k vs 3k) as a wood heater. It is without a doubt the best looking gas log fire I have seen with great visibility of the flames and feature set inside thanks to the large glass panels that cover 3 sides. Decisions...decisions.... Thanks for this info Venno. In Canberra we need heating for about 6 months of the year and I have been paying at least $1,000 a year for good red and yellow box wood. If gas for the Lopi did not cost more than that, I would be happy. I have had a quote for $6614 for the Cypress with flue (to 18 foot high celiling), installation and gasfitting charges. So I think the only extra would be an electrician for a power point and $330 for the optional remote. I am not sure where I got the following info but I was told the Cypress running cost is about 12 cents per hour on low, and 35 cents on high. Still, I am not quite ready to make the decision!!! I do wonder why the it only gets a 3 star energy rating. Re: LOPI CYPRESS GAS LOG FIRE 5Sep 23, 2012 2:33 pm Your running costs are way better than ours (WA). Here its more like 39c an hour on low (3 units which is 3.6Mj times 13c which is the unit cost) and $1.43 on hi Wish gas was the same price as over east. I did a quick cost calc for winter including shoulder months and came up with an estimated annual additional cost to gas bill of $1500, based on a 10 hr a day 20 days a month (I work fifo) for a 6 month period. Took into account the unit ramping up and down to maintain 21c (fudge factor which may not be accurate). I would imagine that at east coast gas prices it would be as economical to run as a wood heater, in WA its almost 3 times the price but way less hassle. Good luck with your decision. PS. Lopi have a special on thru authorized dealers at the moment which includes the remote system for free, they weren't aware of it over here but after checking they said no probs. Re: LOPI CYPRESS GAS LOG FIRE 6Sep 24, 2012 1:54 pm Natural gas price here in ACT from ACTEWAGL is $.023 per MJ. I did not know we were so fortunate here. Just as well, as we have very cold winters. I did a rough calculation and I think that with a Lopi Cypress I might be paying about $1300 per year for gas. Hard to know how it would perform though given heat loss factors and whether the Lopi brochure usage figures are realistic. Thanks for the info regarding the free remote offer. Re: LOPI CYPRESS GAS LOG FIRE 7Sep 26, 2012 11:33 am I may not have had the correct ACTEWAGL gas price in my previous calculation. Here it is: Always Home@ActewAGL Saver Plus plan GST excl. GST incl. Supply fee (¢ per day) 70.76¢ 77.836¢ Usage rate (¢ per MJ) • For the first 49.3151 MJ per day 2.311¢ 2.5421¢ • Thereafter 2.113¢ 2.3243¢ View the Energy Price Fact Sheet [ACT2003SR] (PDF, 44KB) I will have to do a new calculation. Re: LOPI CYPRESS GAS LOG FIRE 8Oct 05, 2012 9:35 am Quote: I have done everything I can to insulate the area but there is significant heat loss through single glaze windows and flat raked ceiling with little insulation. The biggest problem you have is your single glazed windows, no insulation and high ceilings. I'd look to fix those first then look at your heater. You can fix your window problem to a degree by installing special film to your windows to give them a better insulation quality. You could greatly improve your roof by removing the roof sheeting and installing ceiling batts with a foil backed blanket under the roofing. The cost would not be too bad either for the gain achieved. We did this for a client about fifteen years ago. Two of us did an area 12m x 8m, had the roof off, new R3.0 batts in on the ceiling , R2.0 foil backed blanket over the rafters and under the roof sheeting in and the Colorbond roofing back on in a day. All roof sheeting and flashings were re-used although we replaced all the roof screws. High ceilings I can't help you with although in a cold climate like Canberra I'd install flat ceilings but that's more of a personal preference. Stewie Re: LOPI CYPRESS GAS LOG FIRE 9Oct 05, 2012 11:13 am Thank you Stewie I am going to get double glazing in that area of the house in the next few years when I can afford it. In the meantime, I don't really want to spend any money on the windows. There would heat loss around the window frame as well as through the glass. And insulation in the narrow ceiling cavity is not so easy. I have a tiled roof, with solar panels covering a large part of the raked ceiling area. There is sarking paper there but I don't think there are any batts. I have had batts increased in all other parts of the roof but was told not possible in the raked ceiling area. So still trying to decide on what extra heating to install!!! Re: LOPI CYPRESS GAS LOG FIRE 11Feb 22, 2013 6:10 am I really agree with Stewie. The money would be well spent. Think of all those years to come. Re: LOPI CYPRESS GAS LOG FIRE 12Mar 03, 2013 2:00 pm Well I need to make a decision on winter heating this month to place the order and get ready for the cold. I'm back to my original dilema of deciding between a slow combustion wood heater and the Lopi Cypress (not interested in any other gas heater). I would love to hear from anyone that has experienced/changed between both these two methods and why? All assistance and comments appreciated. cheers DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair Hi, I have an old fence/barrier made of treated pine logs bolted to plates and these are bolted to very large metal posts/girders. 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