Allen-Bradley / Contactors, overloads and switchgear

An E1 Plus overload does not fit every contactor. The last letter of the catalogue number is the contactor frame it mounts to, and a 193-EEEB will not go onto a 100-C30 however well the current range matches.

Bulletin 100-C contactors and Bulletin 193 and 592 overload relays are on New Zealand plant everywhere. Both numbering systems are readable once you know where to look.

Reading a 100-C contactor number

Take 100-C09KJ10. Four pieces of information.

The frame sizes

AC-3 and AC-1 are very different numbers

The most misread specification on any contactor.

The same contactor is 9 A on a motor and 32 A on a heater bank. That is not a discrepancy; a motor draws six or seven times full load current during starting and the contacts have to make and break that.

So a contactor that looks undersized against a motor nameplate may be correct, and one selected from an AC-1 figure for a motor duty is badly undersized.

The 100-C09 covers 2 HP at 230 V, 5 HP at 460 V and 7.5 HP at 575 V three phase, at up to 600 V maximum.

The coil code

Two characters, and the first tells you AC or DC.

The second letter is the voltage. J is 24 V, so KJ is a 24 V AC coil and ZJ is a 24 V DC coil.

A 100-C09KJ10 and a 100-C09ZJ10 are the same contactor with different coils. Two characters, and one will not pull in on the other supply.

Rockwell's own guidance on one accessory reads: for 24 V AC control, select 100-C09ZJ10, a 24 V DC coil. So the control voltage at the panel does not always tell you the coil to order. Check the existing contactor.

The auxiliary contact digits

First digit normally open, second digit normally closed. The same convention runs through the auxiliary contact blocks: a 100-FA11 is 1 NO and 1 NC, and a 100-FA02 is 0 NO and 2 NC.

Auxiliaries go on the left on the smaller frames

A frame-specific rule that surprises people, and Rockwell gives the reason.

The reason is double numbering. The smaller frames carry both North American and international terminal designations printed side by side, and a right-side block obscures the identification.

So if a panel builder has fitted a right-side block on a 100-C16, it will work, and the terminal markings become hard to read during fault finding.

A DC coil contactor takes fewer auxiliaries

A limit that catches people adding contacts to an existing starter.

So a DC coil contactor cannot take as many auxiliary contacts as the AC version of the same frame. If a circuit needs six auxiliaries, the coil type is part of the decision.

CR means screwless

A small naming rule worth knowing.

For screwless terminals, front mount only, insert CR after the 100- in the catalogue number. So a 100-FA02 becomes a 100-CRFA02.

Screw and screwless versions are not interchangeable as parts.

Reading an E1 Plus overload number

Take 193-EEDB. This is the part that gets ordered wrong.

The current range letter

The ranges overlap deliberately, so a motor near a boundary can often be covered by either. Set the dial to the motor's actual full load current, not to the top of the range.

The frame letter is the one people miss

This is the decode that was missing from this page and it matters more than the current range.

So a 193-EEEB fits a 100-C23 and a 193-EEED fits a 100-C30. Both are E1 Plus overloads and the current ranges are similar, and they will not swap.

When you send us an overload number, send the contactor number too. If the contactor has been changed at some point, the overload on the shelf may no longer be the right one.

Rockwell notes that not all combinations produce a valid catalogue number, so a code built by pattern rather than looked up may not exist.

What is adjustable on an E1 Plus

Three settings, and a replacement arrives at defaults on all of them.

Photograph the dial and switch positions before removing the old unit. They are the configuration and they exist nowhere else.

Trip class is not a quality setting

It is the time the relay allows at locked rotor current before tripping.

A high inertia load on Class 10 will trip during starting. That is the single most common cause of an overload that trips on start and holds fine once running.

And a quick-starting motor on Class 30 is under-protected. The class was chosen for the load, so match it rather than defaulting.

Auto reset deserves thought

An overload set to auto reset will restart the motor by itself once it cools, if the control circuit allows it.

On a conveyor that is convenient. On a machine someone may be working on, it is not. The reset mode is a safety-relevant choice, not a convenience one.

Phase loss protection is built in

Worth knowing because it explains a fault that looks like a nuisance trip.

The E1 Plus includes phase loss protection. A three phase motor running on two phases draws heavily unbalanced current and will burn out, and the relay catches that.

So an E1 Plus tripping repeatedly on a motor that seems fine is worth investigating as a supply problem, not as a faulty relay. Check the fuses, the contactor contacts and the incoming supply before replacing anything.

An old eutectic or bimetallic overload would not have caught that, which is why an upgraded starter sometimes starts finding faults the old one ignored.

The side accessory modules

How an E1 Plus gains ground fault and jam protection.

Modules mount directly to the left side of a 193-EE or 592-EE, adding only 18 mm to the overall width.

They interface electronically with the overload, so all control circuit connections are still made at the E1 Plus terminals. No extra wiring run.

The 193-EGF ground fault module

Configuration is on front-accessible DIP switches, which also enable or disable the ground fault function and remote reset.

The 20 to 100 mA range being resistive only is worth noting. Motor windings have enough capacitive leakage that the most sensitive setting will nuisance trip.

Jam protection is fixed at 400 percent

A module that adds jam protection alongside ground fault.

The jam protection is fixed at 400 percent of full load current, and it is enabled or disabled from the DIP switches.

Dynamic inhibit is why it does not trip on starting

The mechanism that makes jam protection usable, and it is elegant.

The protective function is enabled only after the motor current goes above 150 percent and then falls below 125 percent.

In other words, the relay waits until it has seen the motor start and settle before it starts watching for a jam. So a starting inrush is not read as a jam, and a genuine jam after the motor is running is caught immediately.

Worth knowing if someone is wondering why jam protection does not fire during a hard start.

The Pass-Thru option

Genuinely useful, and it solves the frame problem above.

Rockwell lists it for DIN rail and panel mount applications, Bulletin 100-K mini contactors, external current transformers, and use with non Allen-Bradley contactors.

That last one matters

A Pass-Thru E1 Plus works with contactors that are not Allen-Bradley.

So a panel with a mixed population, or a plant standardising on E1 Plus protection over contactors it already owns, has a route that a frame-mounted overload does not offer.

Tell us what contactor it has to work with and we will tell you whether a Pass-Thru is the answer.

The Z versions and external CTs

For motors larger than a directly mounted relay can handle.

193-EE_Z units are panel mounted and work from external current transformers.

Catalogue numbers run 193-EEHZ, EEJZ, EEKZ, EEWZ, EELZ, EEMZ and EENZ.

Two things are not included

The current transformers are supplied by the customer. Rockwell specifies one CT per motor phase, with the secondaries connected to the E1 Plus.

And the panel adapter, catalogue number 193-EPB, is ordered separately.

So a Z version is three orders: the relay, the adapter, and three CTs. Tell us the motor and we will quote the set.

Short circuit coordination

The part of a starter specification that is easiest to overlook and hardest to fix afterwards.

A contactor and overload combination has a short circuit rating that depends on the protective device in front of it. Rockwell publishes tables per contactor, per overload and per fuse or breaker type.

As one example: a 193-EEED or 193-EEFD with a 100-C30, C37 or C43 contactor reaches 480 V at 65 kA, and 600 V at 30 kA, when protected by an Allen-Bradley 140U-H6C3.

Type I and Type II

EN 60947-4-1 defines two levels of coordination, and the difference is what happens after a short circuit.

So Type II coordination costs more upfront and means the starter survives a fault. Type I means a downstream short circuit may write off the contactor and the overload.

If a plant has had a fault and the starter looks intact, it is worth knowing which coordination it was designed to before putting it back into service.

Rockwell also publishes high fault ratings using Bulletin 140MG circuit protectors and Bulletin 140G-H frame circuit breakers under UL508 and CSA 22.2 No. 14.

That is a design matter for whoever specified the panel. We will supply what you specify, and flag it if a combination looks unusual.

Bulletin 193 and 592

They are the same E1 Plus technology in different mountings, for IEC and NEMA starter lines respectively.

On imported machinery in New Zealand you will see both. Send whichever is on the label.

The range meets UL508, CSA C22.2 No. 14, NEMA ICS 2-1993 Part 4, EN 60947-4-1 and EN 60947-5-1.

Older overloads

Plenty of New Zealand plant still runs pre-electronic protection.

Eutectic overloads need the right heater

Worth flagging because the relay body alone does not set the protection.

On a eutectic overload the heater element determines the trip current. A relay without heaters protects nothing, and the wrong heaters protect the wrong motor.

So if you are sourcing one, send the motor full load current as well as the relay number and we will identify the heaters.

This is a real argument for moving to an E1 Plus where a heater is unobtainable. An adjustable electronic relay covers a range rather than a point, and it does not need a matched consumable.

E3 Plus

Where the overload is a network node rather than a contact.

The E3 and E3 Plus range adds communications, so the starter reports current, thermal capacity, trip history and warnings to the control system.

That changes the maintenance conversation. A motor drawing steadily more current over months is visible before it trips, rather than after.

If a plant has E3 Plus starters and nobody is reading the data, that is worth knowing.

Accessories

Auxiliary blocks and coils are separately available, and on a contactor that is otherwise sound they are usually the cheaper fix.

What to send us

The contactor catalogue number and the overload catalogue number together. The overload frame letter has to match the contactor.

The motor full load current, so we can confirm the range.

The trip class and reset mode set on the existing relay.

The coil voltage. Check the contactor rather than assuming from the panel.

Whether accessory modules are fitted. Ground fault or jam.

A photo of the starter. It captures the dial settings, the switch positions and both catalogue numbers at once.

Before ordering a replacement

What we can supply

Current production. Bulletin 100-C contactors across the frame range and coil voltages, E1 Plus and E3 Plus overloads in all current ranges and frames, Pass-Thru versions, ground fault and jam modules, panel adapters, auxiliary contact blocks, coils, terminal blocks and busbars. Quoted with a delivered lead time.

Discontinued. Earlier 100 series contactors, eutectic and bimetallic overloads, and heater elements. Surplus and tested used.

Coils and auxiliary blocks separately. On a sound contactor, usually the actual fault.

We buy Allen-Bradley switchgear

Contactors and overloads hold value, and matched starter sets are worth more than loose parts because the frame compatibility is already resolved.

Heater elements for eutectic overloads are worth keeping too. They are unobtainable new and a plant still running them needs them. See Sell To Us.

Related

Allen-Bradley overview.

For contactors and overloads from other brands see Siemens SIRIUS, Schneider TeSys and ABB AF.

Send us your part numbers

Send the contactor and the overload together. The overload frame letter has to match the contactor it mounts to. Quotes in NZD including GST.

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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 Rockwell Automation. Allen-Bradley, E1 Plus and E3 Plus are trademarks of Rockwell Automation, Inc. All trademarks, brand names and catalogue numbers 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.