Fermenting in Kettle

I know I've seen WilserBrewer refer to this a few times, but is anybody else using this technique?
I'm going for super minimalist brewing setup. I currently do BIAB and no chill. But instead of transferring to a no chill cube and then to a FV, how about just no chilling in the kettle?
I usually dump all of my break into the cube as it is, so I'm not concerned about that. Haven't had any problems with off flavors or clarity issues.
Does anybody have any suggestions or comments on this technique? Preferably people who have done it. Also, one pertinent question - my kettle does have a ball valve. Is that a potential infection problem? Does anyone who's used this technique use a kettle with ball valve? Thanks

I've tried no chill in a kettle with a kvass recipe. The problem was that the hops imparted way more bitterness than I expected because they were basically sitting in really hot wort for hours.

As I have mentioned, I ferment right in the kettle quite often. My typical process is to add some hops at flame out, leave the kettle uncovered and let it cool. adding more hops as a hop stand with the last hop addition at around 160 degrees. At this point I lid the kettle and let it cool. Usually the next morning I will finish cooling to pitching temps in either a ferm chamber (freezer w/ temp control, or a swamp tub w/ some ice). once at pitching temps I will aerate the wort and pitch yeast in the kettle and lid the kettle. Prior to the kreusen falling when fermentation is still very active, I will seal the kettle with a plastic bag and not open it again for 7-10 days. Once fermentation is complete and the wort is still, usually within 10 days I will rack to a keg with a standard racking cane. At this point you can cellar the keg for another week as secondary, or chill and carb.

Your kettle valve should be heat sanitized during the boil, you could also run a few quarts of hot wort through it at the end of the boil, spray some star san up the open end of the valve and cover with foil. Star san again prior to draining...???

Try it and report back...It is a nice labor / time saver IMO.

What size kettle do you use for what size batch? Isn't too much head space an issue? I'm still bottling, so I'm going to try an experiment. I'll rack half into a bottling bucket and bottle the other half straight from the kettle using the ball valve. That way, if any beasties are hiding in the valve, it won't spoil a whole batch.

I'm loving the idea of single vessel brewing! I'll do a new post with follow up to let everyone know how this goes.