ABB Emax 2 Air Circuit Breakers NZ | E1.2 E2.2 E4.2 E6.2 Ekip

ABB Emax and Emax 2 Air Circuit Breakers

ABB / Emax and Emax 2 air circuit breakers

A withdrawable Emax is two separate parts. Order the moving part alone and you get a breaker with nothing to plug into.

SACE Emax 2 is the ABB air circuit breaker range, up to 6300 A. These are the incomers and main breakers in large switchboards, and they are configured rather than selected.

The four frames

Frame	Maximum current	Breaking capacity Icu	Withstand Icw, 1 second
E1.2	1600 A	Up to 66 kA	50 kA
E2.2	2500 A	Up to 100 kA	85 kA
E4.2	4000 A	Up to 150 kA	100 kA
E6.2	6300 A	Up to 150 kA

Rating levels run from 42 kA to 150 kA across the range, which ABB describes as standardised to simplify switchgear projects.

A note on the E6.2 figure. ABB documentation quotes the top of range interrupting rating as 150 kA in some places and 200 kA in others. If that number matters for your fault level study, tell us and we will confirm it against the current ABB datasheet rather than a catalogue summary.

Two things that help switchboard design

E1.2 fits 66 kA switchgear into 400 mm units in three and four pole versions. ABB names naval and offshore installations as the reason, and it applies anywhere board space is tight.

E2.2 reaches 2500 A in a 400 mm width in the three pole version, so the step up from E1.2 to E2.2 does not necessarily cost you board width.

E2.2, E4.2 and E6.2 share height and depth

ABB states that the sizes from E2.2 to E6.2 have the same height and depth. Only the width changes.

That matters when uprating an existing board. Moving from an E2.2 to an E4.2 is a width change, not a rebuild of the cubicle depth.

E1.2 is the exception, being the compact frame.

The trip units and accessories are common across the range

Unusually helpful, and worth knowing for spares holding.

ABB states that the protection trip units, auxiliary connections and main accessories are the same throughout the range.

So one spare trip unit can cover an E1.2 and an E6.2. On a site with several Emax 2 breakers of different sizes, that is a single spare rather than four.

Reading a type designation

Take E2.2N 1600 Ekip Dip LSIG 3P F HR, order code 1SDA070993R1.

Part	Meaning
E2.2	Frame
N	Breaking capacity class. Icu 66 kA at 400 V AC on this unit
1600	Rated current In
Ekip Dip LSIG	Trip unit type and protection functions
3P	Three pole
F	Fixed construction
HR	Terminal arrangement

The breaking capacity class letter follows the frame, the same convention as Tmax XT on our Tmax page. An E2.2N and an E2.2S are the same frame with different fault performance.

Withdrawable means two parts

The most expensive mistake in this range.

Compare these two order codes, both E2.2N 1600 A:

Order code	Designation	What you get
1SDA070993R1	E2.2N 1600 Ekip Dip LSIG 3P F HR	Fixed circuit breaker, complete
1SDA072342R1	E2.2N 1600 Ekip Dip LSI 3P WMP	Withdrawable moving part alone

WMP is the moving part on its own. A withdrawable installation also needs the fixed part, the cradle that stays in the switchboard.

If you are replacing a failed breaker in an existing withdrawable cubicle, the WMP is exactly what you want and it is considerably cheaper than a complete assembly. The cradle stays where it is.

If you are building new, you need both.

Tell us which situation you are in. Ordering a complete withdrawable set to replace a moving part wastes real money, and ordering a WMP for a new installation leaves you unable to install it.

Emax and Emax 2 are different platforms

Generation	Frames	Trip units
Emax, original	E1, E2, E3, E4, E6	PR111, PR112, PR113
Emax 2	E1.2, E2.2, E4.2, E6.2	Ekip family

The frame numbering maps across but the trip units do not. An E2 is the original generation and an E2.2 is the current one, and a PR112 does not fit an Emax 2.

The original Emax dates from the late 1990s and there is plenty of it in New Zealand switchboards. Those breakers and their PR trip units are exactly the sort of thing we source.

Note also that the original range included an E3, where Emax 2 goes E2.2 straight to E4.2.

Retrofit

ABB offers retrofit solutions for putting current breakers into existing switchgear. If you are considering that rather than a like-for-like replacement, tell us the existing frame and the switchboard details and we will find out what is available for your specific arrangement.

The alternative is usually cheaper and faster. A tested used Emax of the same frame, breaking capacity and trip unit goes straight back into the existing cradle with no switchboard work at all.

Breaking capacity derates with voltage

Worth stating because it is where specifications go wrong.

Emax 2 is rated Ue up to 690 V AC across all frames, with breaking capacity derated at higher voltages. ABB offers dedicated variants for 1000 V and 1150 V applications.

So an Icu figure quoted at 400 V or 415 V does not hold at 690 V. Always check the published Icu and Ics tables for the actual voltage class of your installation.

Send us the system voltage along with the type designation and we will confirm the figures apply.

Accessories, with confirmed order codes

External neutral current sensors

Application	Order code
E1.2 to E2.2, 2000 A	1SDA073736R1
E2.2, 2500 A	1SDA073737R1
E4.2, 3200 A	1SDA073738R1
E4.2 4000 A and E6.2 at 50 percent	1SDA073739R1
E6.2	1SDA073740R1

The 1 percent accuracy versions are separate parts

Application	Order code
E1.2 to E2.2, 2000 A, for 1 percent CB	1SDA107553R1
E2.2, 2500 A, for 1 percent CB	1SDA107554R1
E4.2, 3200 A, for 1 percent CB	1SDA107555R1
E4.2 4000 A and E6.2 N 50 percent, for 1 percent CB	1SDA107556R1
E6.2, for 1 percent CB	1SDA107557R1

ABB is explicit on two points here. These are to be used only with circuit breakers equipped with the 1 percent accuracy feature, and the standard external neutral is not certified for 1 percent accuracy.

So if your breaker has the 1 percent metering accuracy feature, the neutral sensor must match it, or the metering accuracy claim does not hold across all four conductors.

That is easy to miss when ordering a replacement sensor, because the two look interchangeable.

Homopolar toroids for the main earthing conductor

Rating	Order code
100 A	1SDA073743R1
250 A	1SDA076248R1

These fit E1.2 through E6.2.

Mechanical interlock cables

Type	Frames	Order code
Type A horizontal	E1.2 to E6.2	1SDA073881R1
Type B, C, D horizontal	E2.2 to E6.2	1SDA073882R1
Type A vertical	E1.2 to E6.2	1SDA073885R1
Type B, C, D vertical	E2.2 to E6.2	1SDA073886R1

ABB specifies: order one type of cable for each interlock, and the cable must be ordered on the fixed circuit breaker, or on the fixed part of a withdrawable circuit breaker.

So the interlock cable goes with the cradle, not the moving part. Another reason to be clear which half you are ordering.

Interlock levers

Frame	3 pole	4 pole
E2.2	1SDA073889R1	1SDA073889R1
E4.2	1SDA073890R1	1SDA073890R1
E6.2	1SDA073891R1	1SDA073892R1

The lever is not required for the E1.2. And note the E6.2 is the only frame where the three and four pole levers differ.

Terminals and connections

Power terminals can be oriented horizontally or vertically and are designed for common busbars. Auxiliary connections are push-in.

The terminal orientation is part of the order code, the HR in the example above. Getting it wrong means the breaker does not line up with the busbars, which on a board of this size is not a small problem.

Communication and metering

Item	Function
Integrated IEC 61850	Connection to automation systems used in medium voltage distribution
Ekip Link	Switchgear supervision system
Ekip Control Panel	Operator panel
Ekip Com Hub	Connection to ABB Ability Electrical Distribution Control System

ABB notes that all circuit breaker functions are accessible remotely through Ekip Link and the Ekip Control Panel.

If your switchboard is monitored, a replacement breaker needs the same communication capability or the supervision system loses visibility of it.

Selectivity

ABB cites high short-time withstand currents combined with the protection functions as giving complete selectivity.

That is the point of a high Icw figure on an incomer. It allows the breaker to hold in for a defined time while a downstream device clears the fault, so only the affected circuit is lost rather than the whole board.

Which is why the Icw rating matters as much as the Icu on a main breaker, and why substituting a lower Icw device can destroy a selectivity study even if the Icu is adequate.

What to send us

The frame and breaking capacity class. E2.2N, E4.2S and so on.

The rated current In.

The trip unit type. Ekip Dip, Ekip Touch, or a PR unit on an original Emax.

The protection functions. LSI, LSIG and so on.

Pole count.

Fixed or withdrawable, and if withdrawable, whether you need the moving part, the fixed part, or both.

Terminal orientation.

The system voltage, because breaking capacity derates.

A photograph of the front and the rating label covers most of it.

What we can supply

Current production. Emax 2 across all four frames, Ekip trip units, cradles, terminals, interlocks, current sensors and communication modules. Quoted with a delivered lead time.

Original Emax. E1 through E6 and PR111, PR112 and PR113 trip units. Surplus and tested used, which is usually the only way to keep an existing switchboard as it is.

Moving parts alone. If the cradle is sound, that is the order.

Trip units alone. If the breaker is sound and the trip unit has failed.

We buy Emax

Air circuit breakers hold significant value, and the original Emax generation is worth real money to sites still running it. If a switchboard is being replaced, do not scrap the breakers or the trip units. See Sell To Us.

Send us your type designations

Include the breaking capacity letter and tell us whether you need the moving part, the fixed part, or both. Quotes in NZD including GST.

Request a quote

Industech is an independent supplier of new, surplus and used industrial automation equipment. We are not an authorised distributor of, approved by, sanctioned by, or affiliated with ABB Ltd. ABB, SACE, Emax, Ekip and ABB Ability are trademarks of ABB Ltd. All trademarks, brand names and order codes are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only. Information on this page is for identification and does not constitute electrical design advice. Breaking capacity, withstand rating and selectivity depend on the installation and belong with whoever is responsible for its protection design.