Leak coming from the heating element. Cleaned and descaled as you can see in pics. I should add, the machine stopped working so I took it apart, cleaned most everything and then after putting back together, this leak started.

So, I ordered 2 new gaskets from Stefano's. Both the stock and Teflon types.

put heating element in, tightened securely and set machine back on its feet and it immediately starts dripping quickly.

I tried it with both gaskets separately, same results. (have not done it with both together)

can I use a high temp. silicone gasket maker type product that is used for cars?

what else can I do?

thanks in advance

I would check to make sure the ears on the element are not contacting the boiler before the gasket is compressed. As an experiment since you have two gaskets, you might try putting both gaskets in and then very carefully tightening the bolts till snug and then another 1/4 turn making sure to keep the flange level. If that stops the leak you need to fix that problem. It looks to me like one of the ears on the element is bent, but it's pretty hard to tell from a picture. I doubt you can bend it back, but you might be able to file off just enough to let the gasket seal.

If you are torquing down the two bolts evenly and to the correct ft-lbs and using the correct gasket, the main reason for leaks through the gasket would be that the mating surfaces are too dirty, corroded/pitted, or not perfectly flat. Some things to do include using a straight edge to check the flatness of the mating surfaces of the boiler and heating element assembly, carefully scraping away grime and mild surface corrosion, and using a torque wrench to tighten the bolts. I think it would be OK to use a food safe high temperature gasket sealer, like Sil-Bond red, but others may want to suggest something else.

ira wrote:I would check to make sure the ears on the element are not contacting the boiler before the gasket is compressed. As an experiment since you have two gaskets, you might try putting both gaskets in and then very carefully tightening the bolts till snug and then another 1/4 turn making sure to keep the flange level. If that stops the leak you need to fix that problem. It looks to me like one of the ears on the element is bent, but it's pretty hard to tell from a picture. I doubt you can bend it back, but you might be able to file off just enough to let the gasket seal.

one of the ears is indeed slightly bent but they do not touch the boiler plate.

I will do some more cleaning and sanding and if need be, use some silicone sealant if that doesn't work.
thanks!