Question about mounting element in keggle

I mounted a 2000k element in my keggle today. I'm getting ready to wire it up and pot it in epoxy.

My question is this. I removed the little black gasket on the element before installing it in the keggle. It seemed like it was making it hard for me to get the food grade silicone gasket and the locknut on the threads.

Any reason to keep the original gasket on the outside of the keggle? I have no leaks, just wondering about temperatures from the brew kettle affecting the element connections on the outside.

Thanks.

Don't use that black gasket, it's not food-grade. Take it and put it in a coffee mug with some water, then nuke it for a few minutes. Let the water cool then taste, do you want that in your brew?

If you've got no leaks you should be good to go!

I meant on the outside of the keggle, but point taken.