ABB Emax 2 Spare Parts Catalog and Ordering Guide for Engineers
What is an ABB Emax 2 spare parts catalog? An ABB Emax 2 spare parts catalog is a structured reference document covering field-replaceable components for ABB's open air circuit breaker platform rated 400–6300 A under IEC 60947-2, including trip units, auxiliary contacts, motor operators, and arc-chute assemblies. Ordering the wrong reference number — mismatched firmware-dependent trip unit variants, incompatible PR122/PR123 accessories, or substituted arc-chute grades — risks protection maloperation or voided IEC breaking-capacity certification. This guide covers catalog structure and part-number logic, highest-failure-rate components identified in field data, the nameplate-to-purchase-order workflow, lead-time drivers, recommended stocking quantities, and verified compatibility rules for substitutions and retrofit installations.
How the ABB Emax 2 Spare Parts Catalog Is Structured
If you have ever opened the ABB Emax 2 catalog (document 1SDC200023D0208 in its current revision) and felt slightly defeated by the 400+ pages, you are not alone. The catalog is organized by functional group, not by frame size, which trips up procurement teams who are used to ordering by breaker model.
The seven core groups you will navigate are: trip units (Ekip series), accessories for electrical signaling, terminals and connection kits, operating mechanisms, locks and interlocks, internal accessories (releases), and external accessories (mounting, racking, IP covers). Each group has its own ordering logic, and the SKU prefix tells you which family applies — 1SDA codes for Emax 2 components, 1SDH for legacy Emax compatibility kits.
Reading a 1SDA Order Code
A code like 1SDA070701R1 decomposes into: 1SDA (Emax 2 family identifier), 0707 (frame and current rating block — here E1.2B 630 A), 01 (variant), R1 (revision/packaging). When you order the ABB 1SDA070701R1 E1.2B 630 Ekip Dip LI 3p F F, that suffix tells the warehouse it is a fixed-mount, three-pole, front-terminal unit with the LI (long-time + instantaneous) trip curve.
Engineers often overlook the suffix character. We have seen orders for "an E1.2B 630" arrive as a withdrawable version when the panel was wired for a fixed unit — a four-week mistake that a one-letter check would have caught.
For complete technical specifications and conformity details on the ABB Emax 2 air circuit breaker family, refer to the manufacturer's official ABB SACE Emax 2 product documentation, which aligns with IEC 60947-2 requirements.
Which Spare Parts Fail Most Often in the Field?
In our experience supporting industrial sites across Europe and the Gulf, the failure distribution on ABB Emax 2 breakers older than five years looks roughly like this: trip unit batteries and rating plugs (~35% of service calls), auxiliary contacts and signaling (~20%), motor operators (~15%), shunt and undervoltage releases (~15%), and arc chutes or main contacts (~15% combined, mostly on heavily cycled units).
This is not universal. A data center MDB that closes its breaker once at commissioning and never operates it for ten years has a completely different failure profile than a steel mill ACB cycling 30 times per shift. For the data center scenario specifically, see our notes on ABB Emax 2 in data centers: MDB design, redundancy and uptime considerations.
The Nuisance Tripping Question
A common mistake is replacing a "faulty" trip unit when the actual problem is a CT secondary loose connection or a parameter set incorrectly during commissioning. Before you raise a purchase order for an Ekip Touch LSIG, walk through the diagnostic tree in our ABB Emax 2 nuisance tripping root causes guide. Roughly half of the trip units we receive as "warranty returns" test fully functional on the bench.
Ordering Workflow: From Nameplate to Purchase Order
The single most important data point on a spare parts order is the breaker nameplate photograph. Not the panel drawing. Not the original BOM from 2017. The nameplate, taken with a phone, in focus, including the serial number block.
Why? Because Emax 2 has had three minor hardware revisions since launch, and the accessory kits are not always backward-compatible. A motor operator for a pre-2019 E2.2 frame uses a different gear ratio than the post-2020 unit, and ABB will ship per the serial number, not per the type designation alone.
The Six Data Points We Ask For
When a procurement manager sends us a request, we need: (1) breaker type and frame (e.g., E2.2B 1600), (2) full SKU from the nameplate, (3) serial number, (4) trip unit model and firmware version, (5) fixed or withdrawable execution, (6) the specific accessory or part being requested. Missing any of these adds days to the lead time.
Lead Times and What Drives Them
Standard production lead times from ABB SACE for Emax 2 spares range from 2 weeks for high-volume items (rating plugs, common auxiliary contacts) to 14 weeks for configured breakers with non-standard trip units. In practice, what we typically see in the field:
| Criteria | Stock Items | Standard Configured | Custom / Legacy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical lead time | 3–7 days | 4–8 weeks | 10–16 weeks |
| Examples | CR2 batteries, AUX contacts, rating plugs | Complete E1.2B/E2.2B with Ekip Dip LI | Ekip G Touch LSIG with Modbus, retrofit kits |
| Ordering risk | Low | Medium — verify suffix | High — engineering review required |
| Price premium vs. list | 0–5% | List | +10–25% |
| Recommended buffer | 1–2 per panel | 1 per critical feeder | Plan 6 months ahead |
A fixed three-pole unit like the ABB 1SDA070741R1 E1.2B 800 Ekip Dip LI or the ABB 1SDA070781R1 E1.2B 1000 Ekip Dip LI typically sits in distributor stock in major hubs. The 1250 A and 1600 A versions — 1SDA070821R1 and 1SDA070861R1 — move slightly slower but are still readily available. For E2.2 frames such as the 1SDA070981R1 E2.2B 1600, plan two weeks even from stock locations.
How Many Spares Should You Hold?
The honest answer: it depends on duty cycle, criticality, and how many similar breakers you operate. There is no universal answer because a hospital essential services board and a cement plant raw mill drive demand very different stocking strategies, even if both run E2.2B 2000 A frames.
For a structured approach, IEEE Std 493 ("Gold Book") Chapter 4 gives you the reliability framework, and IEC 60050-191 defines the availability terms. The simplified rule we use for client conversations is below — it is not a substitute for a full RAM study, but it gets you in the right order of magnitude.
Formula: Recommended Spare Parts Quantity — Source: IEEE Std 493 §4.3 (adapted)
Qspare = ⌈ N × λ × Tlead × kcrit ⌉
| Symbol | Description | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Qspare | Quantity of spares to stock | units |
| N | Number of installed breakers of same type | units |
| λ | Annual failure rate (typ. 0.005–0.02 for ACBs) | 1/year |
| Tlead | Replacement lead time | years |
| kcrit | Criticality factor (1.0 normal, 2.0 critical, 3.0 life-safety) | — |
Compatibility, Substitutions, and Retrofit Cases
Some engineers argue you can swap an Ekip Dip LI trip unit for an Ekip Touch LSIG of the same current rating, but in my experience this only works if the breaker hardware was originally specified with the connector for the higher-tier unit. The communication ribbon on early E1.2 frames (pre-2018) does not support the LSIG ground-fault sensing input, and you will get an "Ekip not recognized" alarm on power-up.
For new specifications where you want LSI protection from day one, order the LSI variant directly — for example the ABB 1SDA070782R1 E1.2B 1000 Ekip Dip LSI. Adding the short-time delay function later as a retrofit is technically possible but rarely cost-effective.
For broader Emax 2 model selection logic, including how the LI vs. LSI vs. LSIG decision interacts with selectivity, see what is the ABB SACE Emax 2: features, models and key benefits. For sizing the frame itself against your transformer secondary, the step-by-step ABB Emax 2 sizing calculator covers the In, Icu, and Icw calculations.
Cross-Brand Substitution
You cannot substitute a Schneider MasterPact MTZ trip unit into an Emax 2 frame. The mechanical mounting, connector pinout, and CT signal levels are all different. If you are running mixed fleets and weighing standardization, the ABB Emax 2 vs Schneider MasterPact MTZ comparison covers the trade-offs.
Documentation You Should Receive With Every Order
Every Emax 2 spare part shipment should include: the test certificate per IEC 60947-2 §8.3 (factory routine test), a CE declaration of conformity, the installation instruction sheet (1SDH-prefix document), and for trip units, the firmware version certificate. For NEMA installations in North American projects, request the UL 1066 listing letter — Emax 2 is dual-certified, but the UL paperwork is not always included by default.
Procurement teams sometimes accept shipments without these documents and discover three years later, during an insurance audit, that they cannot prove the breaker met its rated Icu at delivery. File the certificates with the asset record on day one.
Practical Procurement Tips From the Field
Three patterns we see consistently across global procurement teams:
First, consolidate vendors per region. Buying Emax 2 spares from a single authorized distributor in your region (rather than parallel-importing from three different countries to chase the lowest price) cuts your average lead time roughly in half and gives you a single warranty channel. The 4% you save on parallel imports rarely covers one expedited freight charge.
Second, standardize trip unit firmware. If you have 50 Emax 2 breakers across a campus and they run six different Ekip firmware versions, your maintenance team will eventually load wrong parameters. Lock to one approved firmware version per trip unit type and update the fleet on a planned outage cycle.
Third, audit annually. Walk the spare parts cabinet once a year. Replace lithium batteries proactively (5-year shelf life on CR2 cells), verify rating plugs match the breakers they are intended for, and confirm that the documentation in the cabinet still matches what is in the field. Breakers get re-rated during refurbishment more often than the spares cabinet gets updated.
Where to Specify Detailed Ratings
When raising a quotation request, include the breaking capacity you require. The Emax 2 family covers Icu from 42 kA (B version) to 200 kA (X version) at 415 V AC. For full ratings tables and dimensional data, refer to the ABB Emax 2 full technical specifications article. Most industrial LV switchboards downstream of a 2 MVA / 6% Z transformer are well-served by the B version (42 kA), which is why the catalog density is highest at that level.
For the larger E2.2 frames at 2000 A — for example the ABB 1SDA071021R1 E2.2B 2000 Ekip Dip LI — note the HR (horizontal rear) terminal designation. Specifying the wrong terminal orientation is one of the most common ordering errors we see, and it cannot be corrected on site.
Related Product Categories
Spare parts planning rarely stops at the main breaker. Most Emax 2 panels also carry downstream protection that should be reviewed in parallel — see the air circuit breakers collection at Stoklink, the miniature circuit breaker collection, the residual current device range, and the protection and control relay collection.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long does ABB hold Emax 2 spare parts in production?
ABB SACE commits to supplying spare parts for at least 10 years after the end of series production, in line with IEC 60947-2 industry practice. For Emax 2, which is currently in active production, this is not yet a concern. For legacy Emax (E1–E6) units installed before 2014, certain accessories are now build-to-order with 12–16 week lead times.
Can I install an Ekip Touch trip unit on an older Emax 2 with a Dip trip unit?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The hardware compatibility depends on the breaker's internal connector revision. Verify against the serial number with ABB technical support before ordering. We cover the parameter-loading mechanics and CT compatibility checks in the Emax 2 nuisance tripping guide, which also explains why a mismatched trip unit often presents as random tripping rather than a clean alarm.
What is the difference between F-F, F-HR, and F-VR terminal designations?
F means fixed-mount. The second pair indicates terminal orientation: FF is front-front (flat terminals at the front), HR is horizontal rear, VR is vertical rear. Rear terminals are typical for busbar-connected switchboards, front terminals for cable-connected panels. Specifying the wrong orientation cannot be corrected on site — the terminal blocks are factory-installed.
Do I need to recalibrate the trip unit after replacing it?
The Ekip trip units ship with factory default settings. After installation you must load the application-specific protection parameters using the Ekip Connect software or the Ekip TT test unit. Selectivity studies, ground-fault pickup, and short-time delay are project-specific and must be set against the original coordination study. Failing this step is a frequent cause of post-maintenance nuisance tripping.
Are Emax 2 breakers UL listed for North American projects?
Yes. The Emax 2 family is dual-certified to IEC 60947-2 and UL 1066 (for low-voltage AC power circuit breakers) and UL 489 for certain ratings. Confirm the specific UL listing for your frame size and breaking capacity, since not every IEC variant has a corresponding UL file. Request the UL listing letter explicitly when ordering for NEMA-compliant switchgear.
What is the typical service life of an Emax 2 breaker?
Mechanical endurance per IEC 60947-2 §8.3.4 for the Emax 2 family ranges from 12,500 to 25,000 operations depending on frame size, with electrical endurance roughly half that figure at rated current. In practice, a breaker in a static distribution role (closed continuously, opened only for maintenance) will outlive the switchboard it sits in. A breaker controlling a motor or capacitor bank with frequent cycling needs main contact inspection every 2,000–3,000 operations.
Can I order Emax 2 breakers without a trip unit installed?
Yes, ABB offers "naked" frames for OEM and panel builders who want to integrate trip units later, but this is unusual for end-user procurement. The trip unit is the intelligence of the breaker, and shipping it pre-installed and factory-tested is faster, cheaper, and reduces commissioning errors. Order the complete assembly unless you have a specific staging reason not to.
Conclusion
Spare parts management for ABB Emax 2 is not complicated, but it rewards discipline. Capture nameplate data at commissioning. Stock the cheap items deeply — batteries, rating plugs, auxiliary contacts — and the expensive items selectively, weighted by criticality and lead time. Keep firmware versions consolidated. File the IEC 60947-2 test certificates the day they arrive, not the day you need them.
The procurement teams who get this right are the ones who treat the spares cabinet as a living asset, audited annually and tied to the actual breakers in service. The teams who get it wrong are the ones who discover, at 02:00 on a Sunday, that the "spare" trip unit in the cabinet is the wrong firmware revision for the breaker that just failed.
For the full selection, application, and maintenance methodology — including how spare parts strategy connects to coordination studies, arc-flash mitigation, and asset lifecycle planning — see the complete ABB SACE Emax 2 air circuit breaker engineering guide. For the broader product family context across manufacturers, the air circuit breaker engineering guide covers the technology fundamentals that apply regardless of brand.
