Renogy 200w kit

[pbmazda32]

bought myself a renogy 200w solar kit with a wanderer charge controller. i may add a third panel in the future if i feel the need too. when doing the math for wire size, do i simply multiply the max amperage output of the panel x the amount of panels to determine the total amperage and then factor that into the distance of the wire run? also, what else do i need to add during the install? i know i need to fuse between the controller and battery. do i need to fuse between panels and controller?

i didnt buy the solar setup with the intent of running everything. just to help charge the batteries qiuetly and free while we are out doing other things during the day. my Pop has two 55w panels on his airstream and they always keep him charged up.

any advice is appreciated.

[pbmazda32]

we've found ourselves dry camping more and more. my camper came with a 12v deep cycle and i bought a 2nd matching battery because it was borderline with making it through the night running the furnace, watching some TV, etc. was underwhelmed with the 12v deep cycles to say the least. bought two 6v exide's from camping world and so far they have been great. i no longer have charging issues and they easily run the camper.

solar panels are going on primarily to maintain those batteries and keep them in good shape. and as long as the sun plays ball, i should only have to run the genny when i need a high load device (A/C, mabe some cooking). several of the places we've camped dont have any set rules on genorator use, and i believe my champion 3100 is fairly unoffensive, but sometimes i feel like i am just "disturbing the peace" and dont want to run it just to charge batteries and stuff. solar panels should help with that.

i ordered some 8awg wire and two 20a waterproof circuit breakers. i am going to set it up for three panels even though im only putting two on.

[azrving]

.

[westend]

What you are sizing the wire for is the least amount of voltage drop for the distance the wire needs to travel. Here is one online calculator: voltage drop calculator

Of course, the wire needs to be large enough to handle the amount of current involved (amperage) but two or three small solar panels are easy to accommodate. You don't state whether these three panels will be connected in parallel or series but with a typical parallel connection having less than 25' of wire, 10 AWG should be fine.

I have a manual trip circuit breaker between the panels and the controller. It allows for quick and easy interruption of power between the panels and controller. There may be a time where you want to cut off solar power and the breaker is easier than shading the panels.