Glow-worm 240/246 back boiler unit

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I have a Glow-worm 240/246 back-boiler unit regularly serviced and inspected by a gas safe and previously a corgi engineer. The boiler has been trouble free and reliable for years.
A few days ago lack of heat and warmth of hot water noticed. It fires up but it is producing only Luke warm hot water and similar temperature at the radiators now .
The main burner fires up normal initially, gradually reduces to about a quarter within 2-3 minutes and some of the flame can be seen blowing downwards at burner of the unit. In addition it produces unusual sneezing-like noise!
Has the boiler reached on its final legs or is this fault repairable? Any advice from the fellow members would be appreciated.
The gas fire part works fine.

 

[gasmarc]

yes it is repairable ,if the boiler is not staying on long you will not get hot water or heating , these boilers should be serviced on a regular bases , most of the parts are still available to my knowledge, it sounds like there could be an issue with the burner

 

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The boiler stays on, its thermostat controls it but its main burner's flame decreases and the flames points downward which can be seen at the bottom of the back boiler. It produces some unusual noises. The boiler does not distinguish its flame but water does not heat up to max! The noise is similar to the noise heard in very stormy and windy conditions. The chimney is equipped with a flue liner.

 

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Thanks gasmarc for your honest and kind advice.
The problem has been resolved by clearing its flueways in the boiler's baffle. I struggled to find an engineer who serviced it as most of the engineers who attended were only interested to scrap it.

 

[kirkgas]

well the engineer who did the repair is worth holding onto and pass his name round all your friends and colleagues, experienced engineers are hard to get (as you know) so treat him well and look after him

 

[gasmarc]

excellent news agree with above happy days