Whitfield Profile 20 won't feed pellets

[Cozyfire]

My 6 year old Whitfield Profile 20 starts okay, but does not feel pellets reliably. I've had the stove professionally cleaned and checked, but the problem remains. I'm told that the feeder tube is clear and the photo eye is clean. All vacuum hoses are okay as well. I've read some forums on line that say there is a fiber washer at the auger motor that wears out after about 3500 hours of use. Since I use the stove as my main source of winter heat, it probably has that much time on it. I'd like to check this possibility, but I admit to being a complete novice. I don't know how to find the auger motor in the pellet stove. Can someone help me? Also, will I need to disconnect the pellet stove from the stove pipe to do this? If so, how d I disconnect & reconnect?

 

[Tim_M]

One problem I've had with my Profile 30 is with the spring-loaded safety switch that is supposed to push in when the door is closed. Sometimes it doesn't push in far enough, and pellets won't feed. When this happens I just push it in with my fingers and usually that's enough to engage the switch and make the pellets start to feed again. To prevent this from happening I stuck a small piece of a fridge magnet on the part of the door that makes contact with the switch, so it pushes in a bit further.

 

[Cozyfire]

I checked my manual and found out that the Profile 30 has an automatic shutoff if the door is opened. However, the Profile 20 does not. I've also started the stove and tested to see if pellets fall with the door open. They do.