Heat Stick Ground Question

I am building a heat stick per these instructions: http://lovebrewingcompany.com/brewing/diy/heatstick/

I am having a problem securing the ground wire under the nut. Any tips? When I go to screw in the screw the wire just falls out and no matter how hard I try I cant get it to stick.

Also I am curious if the water heater element is supposed to screw into the pipe or if i am supposed to just JB weld them together.

You could use a ring terminal clamped onto the ground wire.

The one thing I don't like about all the use of the JB Weld with the ground wire is that, although unlikely, you could insulate the ground wire from the "chassis." Yes, it would be difficult, but even reducing the contact between them could be risky. A less liberal amount of JB Weld used to specifically seal the drilled hole would be better in my mind.

The element fits into the pipe, then more JB Weld, which in this case is acting like a gasket, then the nut for the drain goes on to actually hold the element in the pipe mechanically. You are not relying on the JB Weld.

One note: The J pipe I got at Lowe's had a nut that didn't work with my heating element. I had to buy a separate one. It depends on whether the nut was made anticipating a reduction in the tailpipe size.

Jim