Jotul F3 CB - can it simmer my stew for dinner?

[janeinprovence]

Calling all Jotul F3 CB owners: does this stove get hot enough on top to be able to simmer food, or boil water (gradually), as my present stove does? I would hate to lose this advantage once I replace the old one (an unknown brand, made in China, long before everything was made in China).
The Jotul seems to suit my heating requirements fine, I'm just wondering about how hot it gets on top (very, hopefully!) .
My brother in the UK has just got an ILD3 (Jotul group) and he tells me it only gets warm on top - he can even put his hand on it while it's burning! So he can heat plates on it, but it's no good for simmering (he's got a cooker for that, he tells me, with typical Brit humour).
I can't get a straight or trustworthy answer from the vendor on this. Can anyone out there help?
Thanks.

 

[BrotherBart]

Water boils at 99.99C and the top of my F3 CB gets up to 260C to 288C so it will boil your stew. Just be prepared to be there the whole time feeding it wood every couple of hours.

 

[colin.p]

If the stove is top vented, it leaves very little space for a good sized pot, especially if the stove pipe is double walled. I measured roughly 7 inches from the pipe to the front corner.

 

[colin.p]

The forum seems to be hick-upping tonight. I wanted to add that I do boil water for coffee on mine with no problems. Takes awhile but it does boil.

 

[janeinprovence]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply, Colin and BrotherBart. All very informative, that helps me greatly in my choice. The stove will be vented at the back, as my present stove is, so that will leave more room for a pot (or two!).