Help! Can't seal element to cooler

I have tried every which way I can think of to get my heating element to not leak when installed in the bottom of my 10gal Rubbermaid cooler to no avail. I've used the included gasket, and I've used silicone o-rings both inside and outside the cooler. I've also added silicone caulk, but perhaps did not do a great job of it. What is the secret?!

Any other help?

Element....gasket....inner cooler wall...lock nut. In that order should seal. Post a photo of what you are trying to do and maybe someone can help you.

try a search...lots of hits linked below

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclien...f.,cf.osb&fp=4de256c0312bb76b&biw=792&bih=425

That is the order I used along with several other variations and nothing worked. I've now covered the thing in silicone and I think it's sealed, but I'm not sure yet.

kerklein2, this might be a shot in the dark, but I would suspect the leak is being caused by compressing the cooler walls together. Bobby recommends installing a plastic ring to "support" the thin plastic walls of a cooler when installing a bulkhead to create an MLT; I wouldn't be surprised if this was a similar issue. I would consider cutting the opening larger on the outside of the cooler, and fabricating a wooden or plastic "support block" with the appropriately sized hole drilled in it, and bonding it to the inside plastic wall of the cooler. This would prevent the walls flexing when tightening the element's nut. All you should need at that point is a single gasket on the inside of the cooler.

Teflon tape on the threads? I would teflon all the threads first then element, cooler wall, gasket, locknut.

The element is only going through one of the cooler walls, so it's not compressing two walls together. And I've also tried it using a washer and o-ring. I've currently got it using a washer, o-ring, and covered in silicone.