help installing heating elements in kettle

I have the two different heating elements, one 5500LWD from Home Depot, and the Camco 5500. I used a Greenlee 1 1/4" radio punch to punch my hole in the kettle. Now after doing this neither element fit in the kettle. I used an 1 3/8" step bit to make the hole a little bigger and the element fits but only by threading into the hole. Is this normal or should I make the hole bigger so the element fits easily in and out?

i think thread in the hole is great. what are you using to hold the element in place?

Sounds like the perfect size hole to me.

"bargain fittings" stocks a stainless nut and silicone washer to mount the element. Even if it threads in securely, the nut might be worthwhile insurance.

i did mine according to the specs of "the electric brewery"

I have a nut from Bargain fittings. I used an O-ring on the outside of the kettle and on the inside and it's leaking no matter how hard I tighten it. My specs gave a me a washer with an ID of 1 1/2" and the O ring I have is 1 7/17". I discovered that the O-ring actually fits inside the washer making the washer pointless. I was thinking about ordering a washer with a 1 3/8" ID so it will flatten the O-ring against the kettle.

On the outside use just the gasket that came with the element. On the in side use a o-ring with the Bargainfittings nut .

I just installed my heating element this past weekend with the nut and o-ring from bargain fittings. I flattened the keg with a hammer before I drilled the hole with a 1 1/4" hole saw and installed the element without anything on the outside and the o-ring and nut on the inside. The nut has a groove on one side that the o-ring fits into. I found that I had to crank down the nut pretty tight to avoid a leak but once I did it worked great.