Off grid garden irragation

[Pelican]

I want to pump water from a pond to a garden in an area that has no electric service, I am a Craigslist regular and often pick up solar panels at a bargain. I currently have 2 300W panels and a bronze 12V water pump that would supply the needed volume and pressure. The problem I am having is I want to pump while the sun is strong enough to supply the necessary power to the pump but don't care about storing power in a battery for cloudy days or night time use. If I use a lead acid battery it will not reach full charge because I want to use as much of the PV power as I can. I know keeping the battery partially discharged all the time would reduce battery life significantly. Is there some type of affordable setup that lends itself to this type of demand? NiCad, NiMh, Capacitor or whatever. I am told I should never run the pump directly from the charge controller without a storage device of some type, however this would accomplish what I want (If it would work).

[jflorey2]

I am told I should never run the pump directly from the charge controller without a storage device of some type, however this would accomplish what I want (If it would work).

It would work, and is called solar direct. To get it to work well you'll need a device called an LCB (linear current booster) to allow the pump to start up at low light levels. Such systems are common throughout the world, especially in places where batteries cannot be readily sourced or replaced.

[Logan005]

I would not use a 12 volt pump for this application. a 24 volt pump and LCB would be much better. there are even better systems using higher voltage, but 12 volts is a waste of money.