Whitfield Advantage II Auger Screw Not Turning - Motor Working. A Common Cause & Repair

[jforbes78]

After extensive research on repairing Whitfield Advantage II augers, I have run across a common cause when the auger or feeder screw is not turning, but the motor is operating. I wanted to share my repair story as it seems this is happening to a lot of Whitfield owners. After the basic trial & error routines suggested such as cleaning, our feeder screw was still not turning. I took the screw out and there was not a jam. The motor was tested and was operating fine. I then removed the motor again and completely took it apart. Please be careful to note where the gears are located. It is best to take a picture before going any further. The gears were in good condition with no broken teeth. The cause was a worn down washer that was causing the motor to slip about 1/4 inch and jamming the gears. Please see this website as there is a photo of where the washer is. See approx midway through and read his story. http://www.butkus.org/whitfield_pellet_stove.htm I have seen a lot of sites stating this is a common issue, but it took a lot of research and combining of info in order to totally figure it out due to post titles not matching my exact issue. I hope this helps.