Any experience with cheap low power solar load controllers?

Any experience with cheap low power solar load controllers?

Looking to solar power a small pond pump that's far too far away from mains to get conventional power to. Nothing fancy, just enough power to circulate the water a bit to prevent mosquitoes from forming. I'm thinking that a small 10W 12V pump should be sufficient.

So I was thinking about getting a small 20W 12V panel, but I'm a bit concerned that the 12V panels are actually Voc 21V and Vmpp of 17V, so I might be burning up the pump if I direct drive it. I'm also concerned that the large inrush current to get a motor running means you can't actually start the pump without a battery.

So enter the charge controller with a small sealed lead-acid battery. There seem to be zillions of these on the market, but it's really hard to tell the difference or what I should be looking for. I'm likely to just run the pump all day during the sun (no need to run it all night). I just need the battery to start the thing. Are these charge controllers all the same? Am I getting essentially the same thing with a $9 controller on Amazon vs. a $45 controller from Renogy?

submitted by /u/zimm0who0net
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