Hi,

I have a problem with my ancient Ideal Concord W gas boiler (says WCF
on the front). I'm pretty sure it is of the combi-boiler type.

It was working fine until recently I noticed the boiler itself is
giving off excessive heat - it is scalding to the touch. Then I noticed
that the wall above the boiler is quite sooty - not sure if this is new
or not, but I didn't notice it before. The flame seems to be burning
yellow, where I would expect clean blue, and it is lapping up in front
of the internal guard between the heat exchange and the boiler cover.
I think this is what is causing the heat coming off the boiler.

Is this something I can adjust myself or will I need to call in an
engineer? The bad news is I don't have the service manual for the
boiler, it came with my flat.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

--
Michael