Weak link - bottling bucket

[The Bone2]

nOOb alert.

The plastic bottling buckets are a weak link in my process.

The spigot seems to inevitably leak (even if just a bit).

Also, the spigot housing where the spigot "turner" resides has a little pin hole in it that sprays out beer unless you position the "turner" just right.

Am I being over analytical? These two issues have occurred every single time I have bottled.

There has to be a better bottling system (not kegging, I'm not there yet!!):fro:

 

[Yooper]

You know, I've used the same bottling bucket over the years with no issues at all. I wonder if you just don't have a good spigot for some reason. Maybe try buying a new spigot assembly (they're cheap at the LHBS) and see if that solves your problem. I love using the bottling bucket for all my beers and wines, all I do is take off the spigot and clean it and screw it back on. And then sanitize when I use it.

 

[weetodd]

I started out with a cheap ass bucket, with a hole drilled in it and a hose stuck into it. It leaked all over the place. I decided something had to change and then I spent $6 for a brand new bucket with a cool plastic spigot at my LHBS and now I weep gently every time I bottle.

 

[SuperiorBrew]

I love the better bottles, you can buy a ported one and then the bottling wand fits right into the spigot, makes it like a auto beer dispenser.
The one in the pic also had the rotating racking arm which is a great feature but you would not need it for bottling. You could add a Better Body Valve to any bucket as well.

 

[scottthorn]

I don't even use the spigot anymore when bottling. My bottling wand is at the end of a length of tubing which is connected to my auto-siphon. Easy as pie...