By Kent · Lock Depot Staff Writer

Getting power from the frame to the door without a visible wire loop

Every electrified lock, exit device, or card reader mounted on a swinging door needs power to get from the fixed frame to the moving door leaf, and a door swings a few hundred times a day. Running exposed wire across that gap is a warranty claim waiting to happen; the insulation cracks at the hinge line within a year or two. Securitron makes two families of power transfer hardware built to solve that, and the right one depends on how much you want the customer to see: the EPT and the CEPT.

Securitron EPT: the standard power transfer

The Securitron EPT is a flexible steel-shielded conduit that installs into the door and frame edges at the hinge line, carrying wire bundles up to 5/16 inch thick between the two. It works on doors with butt hinges, continuous hinges, or offset pivot hinges up to 3/4 inch of offset, and it's UL listed. It is not a fully concealed unit: the housing shows at the hinge edge, which is the trade-off for a part that installs faster and doesn't need a deep mortise into the door edge. On a job where the door already has a continuous hinge or a standard butt hinge and the budget or timeline doesn't call for a fully hidden install, the EPT does the job without extra labor.

Securitron CEPT: fully concealed, stainless, higher wire count

The Securitron CEPT-10 mortises into the door and frame edges above the second hinge and disappears completely when the door is closed. Construction is all stainless steel, including the back boxes, with no plastic parts and no exposed openings for tampering. The 10-wire configuration carries eight 22 AWG conductors plus two 18-gauge wires for higher-current devices like a maglock, which matters if the door is feeding more than a single low-draw reader. It's rated for butt hinges up to 6 inches and continuous hinges with a cutout, tested to 1,000,000 cycles, and UL listed. The trade for the concealed look and the extra wire capacity is a real mortise cut into both the door and frame edges, which is more labor than the EPT's surface-level installation.

What actually decides which one to order

Three questions settle it. First, does the architect or the customer care whether the transfer hardware is visible at the hinge line? If yes, it's the CEPT. Second, how many devices and how much current is running through the door? A single low-draw reader fits either one; a maglock plus a reader plus a door position switch needs the CEPT's higher-gauge conductors. Third, check the hinge and door edge condition: the EPT tolerates offset pivot hinges up to 3/4 inch and works with less door-edge prep, while the CEPT's cutout requirement on continuous hinges and mortise into both edges is a bigger commitment once it's cut. Neither one works on a center-hung or balanced door; both spec sheets rule that out, so check the swing type before ordering either part. Both mount at the Securitron hinge line and neither needs a separate power supply of its own; they're a wiring pathway, not a power source.

Installing without cutting the wrong door

Measure the hinge before ordering. The EPT is rated for offset pivot hinges up to 3/4 inch and standard butt or continuous hinges; past that offset, neither Securitron transfer works and the job needs a different approach, like an electric hinge. On the CEPT side, confirm the continuous hinge has (or can have) the cutout the unit needs, and confirm the door and frame edges have enough material to mortise into without breaking through the face. A five-minute check with a tape measure before the truck leaves the shop avoids a return trip with the wrong part.

Neither transfer unit is a power supply on its own, so the job still needs a separate power source sized to whatever's on the door, whether that's a single strike or a maglock plus a reader. Getting the wiring pathway right is only half the install; the other half is a power supply that can actually feed everything running through it without sagging voltage at the far end of the run. That's the same sizing logic covered in the Securitron maglock guide, which walks through matching a power supply to a maglock's actual current draw rather than guessing at it.

Labor time is the other real difference between the two, beyond the visible-versus-concealed trade. A locksmith quoting an EPT install can generally treat it as a same-visit job on a door that's already hung, since it doesn't require pulling the door off its hinges or a deep mortise cut. A CEPT retrofit onto an existing door is closer to a shop job: the door often comes off, gets mortised on a bench where the cut can be controlled precisely, and gets rehung. Quoting the CEPT as a quick field swap is how installers end up eating the extra labor themselves.

Common questions

Which one is easier to install, the EPT or the CEPT?

The EPT is faster: it installs into the door and frame edges without the deeper mortise the CEPT needs. The CEPT takes more labor because it's fully concealed and mortised into both the door and frame edges above the second hinge.

Can I run a maglock through an EPT?

The EPT protects wire bundles up to 5/16 inch thick, which fits most standard locking hardware. If the door is carrying a maglock plus a reader and a door position switch, the CEPT's 10-wire configuration with two 18-gauge conductors is built for the higher current draw.

Will either one work on a center-hung or balanced door?

No. Both the EPT and CEPT spec sheets rule out center-hung and balanced doors. Those need a different power transfer approach entirely.

What's the maximum hinge offset the EPT can handle?

Up to 3/4 inch of offset on a pivot hinge. Past that, the EPT isn't rated for the application.

Is the CEPT visible when the door is closed?

No. It's mortised into the door and frame edges and is fully concealed when the door is shut, which is the main reason to choose it over the EPT on a job where appearance matters.