Alaska stove, unburned coal and uneven fire

Never did, but I had a guy out to look at it a few months ago. He pointed at something in the back, said there was a gap and it should be cleaned. I had planned to clean it that weekend but here we are... I've just been running with the heat pumps and haven't used the stove this year. I miss the radiant heat throughout the house but don't miss everything in the basement getting covered with coal dust.

WOW I just realized this post was from last year, I thought it was only a month old. Thanks for the update.... Reader beware im rambling below talking to myself (skip to next post)..

I'm having somewhat same issue with uneven burn. Its burning great on the sides but middle its not. I cleaned the pipes & power vent, unclogged holes in the grate, vacuumed under the grate. Saw a grease fitting, not sure if I ever greased it or not, so currently shutting it down and empting hopper. (I have model 140 Alaskan)

I saw another post kinda like this, and the guy said it was a bigger piece of coal in feeder, (guess he emptied hopper and cleaned it out around the moon shape thing)... Im wondering if this is my issue because before this happened the fire almost stalled (wasnt feeding) and i turned it up to 5. after it started going i turned it back down.....