Never had a problem over-watering bossman! I think that's a human error thing!
And when the water is running down the side, you're pouring the water to fast IMO.
Mist the top soil quite a bit about 15-20 mins before you water them all.
That way you break that surface tension for the main watering.
Give it a shot tho..It's tedious as hell...REALLY BOSS...IT IS...but it works so much better than just pouring the water on and letting it runoff.
I get so that I know how much water I should be giving per watering. I increase as the plants show the need for it..I take note and get them the day before they wilt...I'm thinking tho, with smart pots this upcoming grow, I'm gonna water them more frequently since the pots dry out faster, to kinda offset it ya know?
And If things are too compacted for you, that's no bueno. That means you need to add a little more perlite to the next batch.
I bet flooding the soil with water adds to compaction as well...
But yeah the last grow was on carpet lol, so I had to do everything with care lol...To avoid spills. Luckily I did!
But as a byproduct of that, I think watering carefully might have help me out! I also watered in twos.
Like I'd mist the topsoil of the plants to get them ready..20 minutes later hit them with an amount that would give the slightest runoff, then hit them 45 minutes later with half that amount.
Towards the end of flowering tho, I learned about a technique some ppl called "pumping" with is watering more often(tea every other watering) as every time we water, exchanges in the soil ecosystem happen as a result.
I didn't notice any ill effects either, so I wouldn't advise against it if you wanted to go for it! Got some CHUNKY nugglets tho lol.
And my smarties didn't get clogged, so I can't really relate boss. How do you water? And I've never grow in buckets boss, just bags and smarties.
But
I KNOW FOR SURE that 1gal grow bags should become a staple in your operation homie! I transplant plants that we 4+wks into flowering and they didn't skip a BEAT!