Name: Command Access ETH-BB79 Energy Transfer Hinge 5 Knuckle Standard Weight Steel with Concealed Wire Routing
Brand: Command Access
SKU: ETH8W4040 612 CH-BB79
Price: 120.68 USD
Availability: InStock

Product Overview
FAQs

Command Access Energy Transfer Hinge 5 Knuckle Standard Weight Steel with Concealed Wire Routing

Professional Electrified Hinge Solution for Secure Power Transfer

The Command Access ETH-BB79 Energy Transfer Hinge provides a robust and secure solution for routing low-voltage power from the frame to door-mounted hardware without any exposed or vulnerable wiring. This 5-knuckle standard weight steel hinge is designed for heavy-use commercial environments, supporting 12VDC to 24VDC systems while maintaining the aesthetic of a conventional hinge. The ETH-BB79 integrates seamlessly with electrified exit devices like the MLRK1-VD for Von Duprin 33/35 or 98/99 series, electric mortise locks, and door-mounted access control hardware.

Professional Features & Benefits

Concealed Wire Routing: Internal wire routing eliminates exposed conductors and protects all electrified connections from tampering or wear for enhanced security.
5-Knuckle Standard Weight Construction: Steel base material with 5-knuckle design provides reliable performance in heavy-use commercial environments.
Low-Voltage Power Support: Supports 12VDC to 24VDC systems for compatibility with modern access control and electrified hardware applications.
MLRK1-VD Integration: Works perfectly with Motorized Latch Retraction Kits like MLRK1-VD for Von Duprin 33/35 or 98/99 series exit devices.
Universal Compatibility: Compatible with electrified mortise and cylindrical locks, electric exit trims, pullback exit devices, door-mounted card readers, and low-voltage indicators.
Standard Installation: Installs like a conventional hinge with no specialized door preparation required for easy retrofit or new construction applications.
Clean Aesthetic Integration: All wiring is protected and invisible when the door is closed, maintaining the appearance of conventional hardware.
Commercial-Grade Durability: Medium duty rating designed for demanding commercial applications including high-security and access-controlled openings.

Technical Specifications

Collection: ETH 5 Series
Commercial/Residential: Commercial
Department: Door Hardware
Duty Level: Medium Duty
Electronic: Yes
Knuckles: 5
Product Category: Electronic Access Controls
Product Group: Door Hinges and Pivots
Product Subgroup: Electrified Hinges
Product Type: Hinges
Series: ETH 5 Series
Subcategory: Hinges
Tags: mlrk1 vd

Professional Applications

Commercial Building Security Systems
Healthcare Facility Access Control
Educational Institution Safety Systems
High-Security Commercial Openings
ADA-Compliant Access Control Systems
Retrofit Applications on Hollow Metal and Wood Doors
Code-Compliant Door Openings with Electrified Hardware

Why Choose Command Access Quality?

Command Access Energy Transfer Hinges deliver professional-grade reliability with steel construction and concealed wire routing designed for heavy-use commercial environments. The ETH-BB79 supports low-voltage systems from 12VDC to 24VDC and integrates seamlessly with MLRK1-VD motorized latch retraction systems. Engineered for demanding commercial applications where secure power transfer and clean aesthetic integration are essential.

Manufacturer Resources

Command Access Catalog

Product Specs

Subcategory:: Hinges
Product Group:: Door Hinges and Pivots
Series:: ETH 5 Series
Knuckles:: 5
Product Subgroup:: Electrified Hinges
Duty Level:: Medium Duty
Commercial/Residential:: Commercial
Product Type:: Hinges
Electronic:: Yes
Tags:: mlrk1 vd
Collection:: ETH 5 Series
Product Category:: Electronic Access Controls
Department:: Door Hardware

Command Access ETH8W4040 612 CH-BB79 – Frequently Asked Questions

1) How do I get power from the frame to an electrified lock or exit device without running exposed wire on the door?

An energy transfer hinge does it. The Command Access ETH-BB79 routes the conductors internally through the hinge, so the wiring runs frame to door with nothing exposed to tamper with or chafe, and nothing visible when the door is closed. It carries 12VDC to 24VDC, which covers electrified mortise and cylindrical locks, electric exit trim, pullback exit devices, door-mounted card readers, and low-voltage indicators. It installs like a conventional full mortise hinge, so no special door prep beyond the standard hinge cutout.

2) How many wires do I need in an energy transfer hinge for a motorized latch retraction exit device?

Count the conductors your hardware needs and the gauge each leg draws, then pick the matching wire option. The ETH-BB79 is ordered in 12 wire configurations: 2W (2/20ga), 2WH (2/18ga), 4W (4/26ga), 4WH (2/18ga+2/26ga), 6W (6/26ga), 6WH (2/18ga+4/28ga), 8W (8/28ga), 8WH (2/20ga+6/28ga), 10W (10/28ga), 10WH (2/20ga+8/28ga), 12W (12/28ga), and 12WH (2/20ga+10/28ga). The H options pair two heavier conductors with a set of signal-gauge wires, which is the usual answer for a motor load plus monitoring: heavy legs carry the current, the small ones carry request-to-exit, latch and door position signals. Command Access lists the hinge working with MLRK1-VD kits for Von Duprin 33/35 and 98/99 devices.

3) What size electrified hinge do I need for a standard commercial hollow metal door?

The ETH-BB79 comes in 4 x 4, 4.5 x 4, 4.5 x 4.5, 4.5 x 5, and 5 x 5 inch sizes. Standard 1-3/4 inch hollow metal and wood commercial doors are almost always prepped for 4-1/2 x 4-1/2, so that is the size to match unless your existing frame prep says otherwise. Order the transfer hinge in the same size as the hinges already in the opening, since it drops into the same mortise. Wider leaf options (4.5 x 5, 5 x 5) exist for doors with heavy trim or a deep reveal where the door has to clear the frame.

4) Do I replace all the hinges on the door with energy transfer hinges, or just one?

One. The transfer hinge carries the wire; the rest of the openings hinges stay conventional. Standard practice is to put the ETH-BB79 in the center position on a three-hinge opening, since a middle hinge sees less bind than the top one. Order the other two as plain hinges in a matching size and finish, so the opening reads as one set. The ETH-BB79 is a 5-knuckle standard weight steel hinge, so a 5-knuckle standard weight steel partner hinge is the visual match.

5) Is the Stanley CECB1900R54L a substitute for a Command Access ETH-BB79?

For a single specific opening, often yes; for a hinge you buy repeatedly, they are ordered very differently. The Stanley CECB1900R54L is a three-knuckle concealed bearing concealed conductor architectural hinge, steel full mortise, standard weight, 4-1/2 by 4-1/2 inches, square corner, left-handed, 4-wire, and it is rated heavy duty. That part number is one fixed combination: one size, one hand, one wire count. The ETH-BB79 is a five-knuckle standard weight steel hinge ordered across 4 by 4, 4.5 by 4, 4.5 by 4.5, 4.5 by 5, and 5 by 5 sizes, ten finishes from 600 primed for painting through 693 black, and twelve wire configurations. A locksmith replacing one left-hand 4-1/2 inch door with four conductors can drop in the Stanley part; a security integrator wiring a mixed building of card readers and electrified mortise locks configures the ETH-BB79 per opening. Note the knuckle count differs, three versus five, so the two will not visually match on adjacent doors in the same frame elevation.

6) What is the closest equivalent to a Command Access ETH-BB79 energy transfer hinge from another manufacturer?

The BEST CECB179-12C is the nearest peer: a steel full mortise concealed bearing electrified hinge with a 12-wire quick connect, carrying the same medium duty rating as the ETH-BB79. Both route low-voltage conductors through the hinge instead of across an exposed loop, and both are medium duty steel. The difference is in how the wire is specified. The CECB179-12C is fixed at a 12-wire quick connect configuration, while the ETH-BB79 is ordered with the wire bundle you need, from 2W (2/20ga) up through 12W (12/28ga), including hybrid bundles like 4WH (2/18ga+2/26ga) that pair heavier power conductors with smaller signal conductors. If the opening needs two 18-gauge conductors for a motorized latch retraction kit plus four small signal wires, the ETH-BB79 6WH covers it in one hinge; if you want a single stocked 12-wire part for every opening in the building, the CECB179-12C is the simpler line item.

7) What hinge should I use on the two non-electrified hinges of a door that gets a Command Access ETH-BB79?

Only one hinge in the opening carries the power, so the remaining hinges are conventional. The McKinney MPB79 MacPro is a five-knuckle standard weight hinge, matching the ETH-BB79 five-knuckle standard weight profile so the leaves read the same down the door edge. The McKinney MP79 MacPro full mortise hinge is also five-knuckle standard weight. If the opening is heavier and you are already using a heavy duty hinge elsewhere in the building, the Stanley FBB191 in 4.5 by 4.5 is a five-knuckle full mortise standard weight hinge rated heavy duty. Match the size and finish of your non-electrified hinges to the ETH-BB79 you specify, since it is ordered in 4 by 4 through 5 by 5 and in finishes including 626 satin chrome, 605 bright brass and 613 satin bronze oil-rubbed.

8) Can I use an Ives 3CB1 instead of an energy transfer hinge?

No, and the medium duty rating the two share is what makes the confusion easy. The Ives 3CB1 is a steel three-knuckle concealed bearing full mortise hinge with a medium duty rating, and the 3CB1HW is its heavy weight concealed bearing version. Both are mechanical hinges with no conductor path through the barrel. The ETH-BB79 is an electrified hinge that carries 12VDC to 24VDC from the frame to door-mounted hardware through concealed internal wire routing, feeding electrified mortise and cylindrical locks, electric exit trim, pullback exit devices, door-mounted card readers and motorized latch retraction kits such as the MLRK1-VD for Von Duprin 33/35 and 98/99 exit devices. If the door has powered hardware on the leaf, a 3CB1 leaves you with no way to get power there. The 3CB1 is the correct part for the remaining, non-powered hinge positions on that same door.

9) What finish should I order to match the other hinges in my building?

Ten finishes are available on the ETH-BB79: 600 primed for painting, 605 bright brass, 606 satin brass, 609 antique brass, 612 satin bronze, 613 satin bronze oil-rubbed, 619 satin nickel, 625 bright chrome, 626 satin chrome, and 693 black. On commercial openings the two that come up most are 626 satin chrome and 630 stainless appearance work; if your existing hinges are marked 652 (a painted-steel equivalent of satin chrome) the closest visual match here is 626. The 600 primed option is the one to take when the hinges get painted to match the frame.

10) Is a standard weight electrified hinge enough for a heavy hollow metal door on a high-traffic opening?

The ETH-BB79 is a standard weight, medium duty hinge, and that suits most interior and typical exterior commercial openings, including the access-controlled doors in healthcare, education, and office buildings. Where it is the wrong pick is a heavy or oversized leaf, a lead-lined door, or a high-cycle entrance running a closer at high tension. For those, look at a heavy weight electrified hinge instead. In the wired hinge family we carry the BEST CECB179-12C, a steel full mortise concealed bearing electrified hinge with a 12-wire quick connect, and the Stanley CECB1900R54L, a 3-knuckle concealed bearing concealed conductor hinge, 4-1/2 by 4-1/2, square corner, left-handed, 4-wire.

11) Does handing matter when ordering an energy transfer hinge?

Not for the ETH-BB79. It is a full mortise 5-knuckle hinge, symmetrical about the barrel, so the same part hangs a left-hand or right-hand door. What you do need to get right is which frame jamb the wire run comes down, because the hinge leaf lands on the hinge jamb either way. Some competing wired hinges are handed and sold as a left or right part number, so if you are cross-shopping, check that before you assume the swap is one for one.

12) Can I use a standard commercial ball bearing hinge and just run the wire through it?

No. A conventional hinge has no conductor path through the barrel, so drilling or routing wire through one is not a substitute and leaves the wire exposed at the gap. The Command Access ETH-BB79 is built with the conductors carried inside the hinge. If the opening does not need power at the door, an ordinary hinge is the right and cheaper part, and we carry those in the same sizes, such as the Ives 3CB1 3-knuckle concealed bearing full mortise hinge in medium duty or the Don-Jo HWBB74545 heavy weight full mortise ball bearing hinge at 4-1/2 x 4-1/2. Only the opening with electrified hardware on the door needs the transfer hinge.

13) Will an energy transfer hinge work with an electric strike, or do I need a power transfer at all?

An electric strike lives in the frame, so it needs no power transfer at the hinge. You need the ETH-BB79 when the powered device is on the door leaf: electrified mortise and cylindrical locks, electric exit trim, pullback and motorized latch retraction exit devices, door-mounted card readers, and low-voltage indicators. That is the deciding question on the order, and it is a common way a job ends up with a part it does not need.

14) What else do I need to order besides the hinge to finish an electrified opening?

The hinge only crosses the gap. To complete the job you still need the powered device on the door (electrified lock, electric trim, or a latch retraction kit such as an MLRK1-VD for Von Duprin 33/35 or 98/99 devices), a low-voltage power supply at the right voltage for that device within the 12VDC to 24VDC range the hinge carries, the wire run and raceway in the frame to reach the hinge pocket, and the remaining conventional hinges for the opening in a matching size and finish. Match the conductor count on the wire option to what the door-side device and its monitoring actually need before you place the order, because that choice is fixed once the hinge is built.

15) The opening needs a heavier hinge than a standard weight energy transfer hinge. What are the options?

Weight and power are separate decisions, and on a heavy leaf they are usually handled by separate hinges in the same opening. The ETH-BB79 is a five-knuckle standard weight steel hinge with a medium duty rating. For the load-bearing positions on a heavy door, the Don-Jo HWBB84545 is a heavy weight full mortise ball bearing hinge in 4-1/2 by 4-1/2, the HWBB75045 is heavy weight full mortise ball bearing in 5 by 4-1/2, and the BEST CB1969R is a concealed bearing heavy weight pivot-reinforced hinge rated heavy duty. Order the ETH-BB79 in the size that matches those hinges, 4.5 by 4.5 or 5 by 5 among its sizes, and put it in the position closest to the powered hardware while the heavy weight hinges carry the leaf.

16) Is a Hager 920 concealed bearing hinge the same idea as a concealed wire hinge?

They share the word concealed but conceal different things. The Hager 920 is a full mortise concealed plain bearing hinge with two-knuckle steel construction and a medium duty rating, where concealed refers to the bearing hidden inside the joint for appearance. The ETH-BB79 conceals conductors: internal wire routing carries 12VDC to 24VDC through the hinge so no wiring is exposed or visible when the door is closed. A buyer specifying a clean barrel appearance gets that from the Hager 920; a buyer who needs power on the door leaf gets it only from the electrified hinge. The knuckle counts also differ, two on the Hager 920 against five on the ETH-BB79.

17) We standardize on residential-grade hinges across our properties. Can those cover an access-controlled door?

They cannot cover the powered opening. The Emtek 91013 is a residential duty plain bearing hinge pair in 3-1/2 by 3-1/2 with square corners in plated steel, the Ives 1010RP is a steel plain bearing residential hinge set of three, and the Delaney RH45xx is a bulk residential exterior hinge in 4 by 4 with a 5/8 inch radius. All are mechanical hinges without a conductor path, and the smallest of them is 3-1/2 inches while the ETH-BB79 starts at 4 by 4 and goes to 5 by 5. The ETH-BB79 is a commercial electrified hinge that installs like a conventional hinge with no specialized door preparation, which is what makes it workable as a retrofit on an existing opening you are adding a card reader or electrified lock to.

18) Which hinge do I use on a detention or high-security opening that also needs power to the door?

Those are two different hinges and usually two different openings. The BEST BB855 is a heavy-duty steel double weight concealed ball bearing prison hinge, the Stanley BB855 is a double weight prison hinge furnished with no holes and not swaged in 5 by 6, and the Hager 990 STEEL is a full surface prison hinge 3 by 4 with a welded tip rated heavy duty. None of those carry conductors. The ETH-BB79 is the electrified hinge, medium duty, five-knuckle standard weight steel, and it serves high-security and access-controlled commercial openings by routing 12VDC to 24VDC concealed inside the hinge where the wiring cannot be reached or tampered with. On a detention leaf the load hinges are the prison hinges; where power has to reach the leaf, that transfer is what the ETH-BB79 does.

19) Will a McKinney T2314 work in place of a Command Access ETH-BB79 on an aluminum storefront?

Not for a powered opening. The McKinney T2314 is a non-ferrous hinge, standard weight, five knuckle, with a medium duty rating, which is the specification a glass front installer reaches for when a steel hinge is not wanted against an aluminum frame. It matches the ETH-BB79 on knuckle count, weight class and medium duty rating, but it has no wire path. The ETH-BB79 is a steel base material hinge with concealed internal wire routing for 12VDC to 24VDC hardware. If the opening needs power on the leaf, the T2314 will not deliver it regardless of the frame material.

20) Does a non-removable pin hinge like the Hager BB1168 NRP give me the same security as an energy transfer hinge?

They defend against different attacks. The Hager BB1168 is a non-removable pin full mortise ball bearing heavy duty hinge, and the Deltana CSB45N is a 4-1/2 by 4-1/2 square hinge pair with a non-removable pin. The NRP feature stops the pin being driven out on an outswing door so the leaf cannot be lifted off. That is a mechanical defense at the hinge itself. The ETH-BB79 addresses a different exposure: it routes the low-voltage conductors inside the hinge so there are no exposed conductors to cut or short on a door running an electrified lock or card reader, and the wiring is invisible with the door closed. On an outswing exterior opening with access control, both concerns are live, so buyers commonly use NRP hinges in the load positions alongside the ETH-BB79 for the power transfer.

21) Can I use a spring hinge or a pivot on a door that needs power to the leaf?

Not as the power path. The Stanley 2060R spring hinge is a full mortise square corner spring hinge in 4.5 by 4.5 with a ferrous steel base, rated heavy duty, and it provides self-closing action. The BEST DAP-3 is a heavy duty double acting pivot for commercial interior doors, which changes how the door swings rather than how it is powered. Neither carries conductors. The ETH-BB79 is the hinge that moves 12VDC to 24VDC from the frame into door-mounted hardware, and it installs like a conventional hinge, so on a door already hung on pivots you still need a separate transfer path. Where the opening is hung conventionally, the ETH-BB79 takes one hinge position and the rest of the hardware is unaffected.

22) What is the plain commercial hinge that matches an energy transfer hinge on a painted frame?

The ETH-BB79 is offered in 600 primed for painting along with 605 bright brass, 606 satin brass, 609 antique brass, 612 satin bronze, 613 satin bronze oil-rubbed, 619 satin nickel, 625 bright chrome, 626 satin chrome and 693 black. For the balance of the hinge positions on a painted commercial frame, the Orca Hardware 4040 series is a 4 by 4 square corner plain bearing commercial hinge rated medium duty, the Orca 4014 is the same 4 by 4 with a 1/4 inch radius corner, and the Orca 3535 series is a 4-1/2 by 4-1/2 square corner ball bearing commercial hinge, also medium duty. All three carry the medium duty rating the ETH-BB79 carries. Pick the Orca corner style, square or 1/4 inch radius, to match the existing frame prep, and size the ETH-BB79 to the same 4 by 4 or 4-1/2 by 4-1/2 leaf.

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Does the Command Access ETH8W4040 612 CH-BB79 come with a warranty?

Absolutely. The Command Access ETH8W4040 612 CH-BB79 is backed by a manufacturer’s warranty. For full warranty terms, check the product documentation or Contact Us.

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Command Access ETH-BB79 Energy Transfer Hinge 5 Knuckle Standard Weight Steel with Concealed Wire Routing

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