I'm researching getting into brewing.. I'm wanting to start out extract brewing then later switch to all grain.  I figure on doing 5 gallon kegs and buying a 10 gallon brew kettle...   Question do I need a kettle with a valve on it ? I keep seeing so many diff kinds of kettles I'm not sure how to pick one....do I need a certain diameter to make using a chiller easier?  Any recommendations???

Also what all is needed to get started in extract brewing?
2 keg with separate pressure system
Brew kettle
Fermentor
What else do I need to get this party started?

Are there things I should automatically upgrade to to make all grain brewing in the future less costly?

Thanks for any insight you can give me ?

Bump

Since you are buying a 10 gallon kettle off the bat, you do have a way to heat that correct (such as a propane burner)?

I have a buddy who tried to bring 6.5 gallons to a boil on his stove top

The taller the pot, the less boil off you will have during brewing.  I bought a 15 gallon kettle with a valve for my brewing, allowing me to do 10 gallon batches if i want.
I personally have never used the valve yet as I do not have a pump, but it allows me to upgrade later on if I want.

As far as what else you need:

immersion chiller
siphon
stir plate for starter (not essential but handy)
strainer for the wort (stainless pasta strainer or paint bag if you are cheap and don't mind cleaning it)


These are just my thoughts as I am pretty new with less than 20 batches under my belt.  
This is better than BRD because you can share it with more people

Happy Brewing

Join a local brew club if you haven't already.  I did and was immediately able to buy a 10 gallon brew pot that already had a temp gauge port and ball valve outlet for a very good second hand price.  I got it from a member that was upgrading his brew equipment to a 15 gallon keg brewing kettle.

Good luck!

Buy a 15 gallon kettle now. Think of it as future proofing when you will probably upgrade in the future.

I started with a 10 gallon boil pot and used to syphon post boil. What a PITA!!

I moved up a keggle with a ball valve and it is too easy. I have a plate chiller too so I just gravity dump to my fermenter, I use a Bazooka tube to keep the trub and hop debris inside the keg. Cold break however gets fermented.

I brewed 5 gallon batches, but bought a 13 gal kettle just in case.  Never ended up doing 10 gal batches.  I borrowed a friends 8 gallon that had a valve and thermometer on it and it was very nice.  The valve more-so.  No awkward pouring of the wort into the bucket.

Go big on the kettle. I bought one of these:

62 quart (15 gallon) SS Kettle

A valve is nice but not necessary.

I also recommend a decent digital thermometer. One that reads quickly is a plus.

Hydrometer.

Look into ways to control your fermentation temperatures.