Glacier Bay wood burning stove

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stormtrooperkelly

New Member
Oct 19, 2016
3
mass
I am looking to get more info on this stove. I need to know what year it might be from and also if it has a circular hook up in the back or on the top. I saw this piece online talked to the owner and stated that it came with the house and really has no info in the hook up and whether it has a stainless steel sleeve or its just in the fireplace, The owner is an older women and i am not close enough to just go check it out myself and if I do I want to make sure it has the right hook up for a stainless steel liner.

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Not sure about the hook up but it is a coal stove not a wood stove. The air inlet on the bottom and the shaker grate handle laying next to the stove give it away.
 
Not sure about the hook up but it is a coal stove not a wood stove. The air inlet on the bottom and the shaker grate handle laying next to the stove give it away.

Thank you for your time. Can a coal stove also be used as a wood burning stove? The insert i have now all cast iron and has the almost the same vent on the bottom we use as wood burning.
 
Manual for the Glacier Bay is in the wiki section under manufacturers.
 
Yes, same stove. Both manuals are in the Glacier Bay section. https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/glacier-bay/

You "can" burn wood in a coal stove, but the fuel will get too much air and burn very fast. Burning wood on the coal grate is like elevating wood on a grate in a wood stove. Wood should be burned on the stove bottom in a bed of at least 1 inch of ash to prevent too much oxygen from going through it. Wood doesn't care where it gets air from. Coal must get oxygen up through coal bed. Coal also requires secondary air above fire since all the oxygen can be depleted going through coal fire. Oxygen on top allows the coal gas to ignite as blue flame on top of the coal bed. The grates in these are extremely heavy duty and the secondary air comes from slots in the grate support at the front behind doors. Filled to the top of banking plate each day, shaken morning and night, this stove will burn continuous until you let it go out. (with an extremely constant BTU output unlike the heat cycles with wood)
It also requires a barometric damper, so you need to see if there is one installed on the connector pipe before burning wood. It controls the much more critical draft for a coal fire, and in the case of a chimney fire burning wood, it will open, feeding the fire oxygen. You get no creosote with coal and flue temperatures are much lower. 150* to 200* is the only loss up the chimney unless really firing hard.
Notice the manual I posted does not allow the use of any other fuel. (note directly below model diagrams) You should burn Chestnut Anthracite only. The reason for stating coal only (other than the wood used to start) is due to testing with coal and being listed by UL for that use. When the EPA got involved with smoke regulations, stoves had to be certified for smoke particulate size which you don't have with coal.
 
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What coaly said for the most part
 
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Hello, I am new to this group looking for some advice and help on an old stove my parents have. My parents bought the Glacier Bay wood burning stove around 1978-80. Looking for a UL certification and a manual. I’ve seen some manuals posted to this forum, but it’s for a coal burning GB stove, not this specific model. Also, where can I find a model number for this stove as well? Any help to get additional information on this unit would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
 
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If it was a tested stove (Listed) it would have a UL tag on it. usually on the back, it is probably pre-UL. It appears someone cut the legs down to make it low enough to connect to existing fireplace flue. Legs would have been a minimum 6 inch for stove construction under NFPA standard. (A requirement for Listing) Any modification would lose the UL listing since it is not used as tested. If there is cement under carpet, it can be removed to give proper non combustible floor protection. If the floor is combustible, it requires the proper 18 inch protection in front of loading door.
 
Thank you, I’ll have to check the back to see what I find. I know my parents bought it new, I’ll have to ask if they cut the legs. Thanks for the feedback.
Do you think there is a manual out there for this unit?
 
I've never seen one for a wood only model.
It is a very close copy of the Fisher Grandma / Grandpa Bear Fireplace models. The first double door stove idea originated with a Fisher licensee named Jake Jackson. He ran the idea past Bob Fisher who was against it, and allowed Jake to finish his mandatory build of Fishers before allowing him to start his own business making double door stoves called Frontier. Fisher was the largest manufacturer with licensed fabricators nationwide, and even they didn't have manuals in the early days. The PA fabricator wrote one due to customer demand, and it was accepted and used by all fabricators until 1980 when the models were improved and UL tested. The manual becomes part of the listing, since they need to be installed as tested.
This manual would be good for burning tips and operation; https://www.hearth.com/images/uploads/Fisher_Manual.pdf

Most information in the entire Fisher Forum pertains to this stove as well. With Fisher doors on it, most people could not tell the difference. Unlisted stoves go by NFPA 211 that has a section for unlisted appliances. This is a "Standard" that Codes are adopted from. Most states have adopted ICC Codes which are more restrictive for new installations.

It doesn't appear that this one has been used much, so you should slide it forward and inspect the chimney connection and flue. The flue diameter is important for efficiency. Many stoves were installed in oversize flues for a fireplace which lost much more heat up the chimney than a oxygen controlled wood burning stove. The key is keeping the flue gas temp above 250* all the way to the top. A larger diameter flue allows expansion of exhaust gasses which cools them below the 250* condensing point which allows water vapor to condense on flue walls allowing smoke particles to stick. This is creosote which can form rapidly. The chimney is much more important, it is the engine that makes the stove go by causing a low pressure area in the stove, allowing atmospheric air pressure to PUSH oxygen into the stove.
 
Ricci I have an identical stove as the one you are inquiring about for your parents. Below is the Owners Manual that came with it.

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