Baffle Plate for Old Glacier Bay Fireplace Insert

I have an old Glacier Bay fireplace insert that came with my house. No manual. It appears that there should be a baffle plate at the top of the firebox that is missing (there are brackets for this). Seems that it would need to be about 20" long. I burn wood exclusively... no coal. Would appreciate some advice:

-Is this something that is even necessary for burning wood?

-If so, is this available anywhere, and if not, can it be fabricated? If so, does anyone have the specs/dimensions?

-I had initially thought that this was the same part as the banking plate (available for the similar Gibraltar stove), used in one position for coal and on top for wood, but I am now thinking that these are actually different parts. The banking plate that would fit just inside the firebox door for coal mode is about 17.5" long, as opposed to about 20" needed for the baffle on top. I do see a 20" banking plate available, but its only 3" wide... too narrow to do much good I would think.

-Lastly, might anyone have an owner's manual for this that I could get a copy of, or even know what the model number is?

Thank you for any assistance.

Did you try these guys?

http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/4845/Wood-Coal-S ... Parts.html

I'd bet you did this--BUT--I GOOGLED glacier bay fireplace insert & they have all sorts of stuff there--you could buy another one for $300.00 & it comes with a manual

Thanks for the responses...

WNY, I did try them... even sent them pictures of what I have. They told me that they could not provide any parts without knowing the model number, and offered no suggestions as to whether or not the baffle was even needed for burning wood. I originally thought that the banking plate was what I was looking for, but I now think the baffle is a different part. They only list the Gibraltar banking plates, but no baffle.

FFred, I have tried Google, and did notice some for sale, but the thing must weigh 600lbs, and I am not looking to have one shipped, or even to remove what I have. Funny, I actually e-mailed someone who had one up for sale, asking for a copy of the manual the other day. Supposedly they are going to mail me a copy.... we'll see. Thanks for taking the time to Google it, but I am really just looking to purchase or fabricate a baffle, assuming that it is even needed.

Phil, it would definetly be to your advantage to put a baffle in & I think you will have to fabricate it--weld some real heavy strips on the sides & the back come about 4"down from the top of stove & leave about 6--8 inches open in the front--cut a piece that you can just slide in--at least 1/4 inch plate--my old Bullard wood stove has basically that set up & she heats like a bear--she'll do an 8--10--12 hr burn once I figured out the MPD, draft situation. This one is around 600 lbs also---I hear what you're saying there Couldn't get a real good inside shot--BUT--I'd bet you get my idea

I think that is what I am going to have to do. The firebox already has the brackets in place for this, so I only have to get a piece of steel??? cut for this. I was hoping that possibly someone reading this might have one of these inserts, and be able to give me the correct dimensions of the baffle. Thanks for the photos Fred.

If you can figure out how to fabricate the baffle from fire brick or better still insulating fire brick or ceramic felt it will work far better than steel. The front edge is also the perfect place to add secondary air.

My Gibraltar DDI ( fireplace insert ) used 2 banking plates...The banking plates are expensive so I used fire brick for the first course and placed a banking plate on top of that. This worked very well.
If you are only going to burn wood you don't need the banking plate.

Eddie