Solar without a charge controller.

For the most part you would have  been sold on the idea of a MPPT charge controller, but for "small solar" you do not actually need one?
A PWM is okay for basic stuff but can damage the battery as well as waste a lot of power. MPPT controllers can be a gamble to buy or overly expensive for what they are, depending on your budget or project.

A few years ago, we bough one of the PWM controllers, and we also had MPPT, but there is another....

The Buck Converter

A buck converter works very much like the MPPT, it will change the drop in voltage into current and it will output a stable voltage. They're about 97% efficient so pretty good, but they are not all the same and have some limits if you don't know what to look for.

You do add other things if you want to make your own fully fledged  charger, but for most two items would be required. You can use panels up to 70v for less that a ebay special PWM controller. which in my mind sound great, but it is actually very simple.

I shall Put an article on the website showing you what you need, and in the shop it will be able to buy a parts kit.

Also check out our projects page where I add projects from time to time.