32A Socket Connected to 63A Breaker

Agree but the plug that fits into this socket as well as the cord and the load are also likely to be under sized. This looks like a fire hazard any way you look at it.

Plugs and sockets are designed for different voltages and current.Factory cords follow this guide,unless someone has deliberately modified a plug/socket combination.SE is right,there should be a separate fuse or breaker for the device in case of overload or short circuit.

Here is a list of NEMA plugs and sockets.You cannot physically plug in a mismatched combination of plug and socket.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1290/2817/files/nema_chart1.jpg?v=1570741985

A conductor rated for 60amps at 75C will be a #6 AWG.This wire will not fit under the terminals of a 30 amp plug unless it has been field made by a jack-leg-electrician and some of the strands have been cut and deleted from the conductor,which is a violation of NEC.You must protect the conductors from the 60 amp circuit to the plug with properly sized fuse or breaker.A factory made 30 amp cord and plug will have a 30 amp conductor,AWG #10.They do not waste money by over sizing the conductors.

I think we were talking about receptacles, and there are some screw terminal receptacles such as marine grade Hubbell twist locks that could be wired with a #6 AWG crimp terminal lug, in an oversized box, no doubt. I agree it will be difficult if not impossible to find a 3OA plug capable of taking #6 AWG equivalent in fine stranded flexible wire.

...provided the downstream cable is suitable for the higher current rating, of course.

Yes you can install an inline circuit breaker in the wire leading from the device drawing the current and the socket...

https://temank.com/products/30a-inline-circuit-breaker-reset-fuse

The plugs that fit in the 32 ampere socket are attached to appliances that use less than 32 amperes. There is no need to be concerned about the socket.

Um, er, the load has just gone up to 57 <...amperes...>. The breaker is quite happy. What happens next?

All of the factory smoke is let out of the cord and contacts inside the plug and socket if the overload is sustained,therefor the circuit should be protected by a properly sized breaker.

Quite. Hence #5⇓ & #7⇓.

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Yes. Consult a qualified local Electrician.

• How did this installation get carried out, tested and certified as safe before energisation?
• Where is the record of that event?

If it was carried out by a qualified local Electrician, then it might be best to not use that firm again!

The lowest rated part of the installation, the socket, is rated at 32A. Therefore the installation needs to be protected at 32A. You can either (OP) replace the breaker or, as @Solareagle suggests, install an in-line 32A breaker.

Yes, you could install a 63A socket and then a 32A adapter but the 32A element would the need to be protected by a 32A breaker at that point so there's no great reason to do that. If at any point wiring, sockets or anything else rated at 32A is going to be used it will need protection at 32A.

You cannot physically connect a 30 amp socket to a 60 amp wire..the terminals on the socket are too small.You must have a separate wire to the socket of the proper size.This is the wire that must be protected by a separate properly sized breaker of fuse...By asking this question,you are showing that you should not be performing this work.Hire an electrician.... or a lawyer.

I must be totally missing something here.

I have a ring of several 13 Amp sockets connected to a 30Amp breaker in my house, and, several similar scenarios. This seems to be completely normal to me. We do have to be careful in the kitchen not to turn on too many high current devices at once, because the breaker reacts. But each individual device is protected/controlled by its own 13 Amp (or lower) fuse.

What am I not understanding?

Sure you can connect more than one receptacle to a single breaker or fuse,as long as the wires to the receptacle can carry the full amount of current determined by the breaker.

You can have a 100 amp main breaker feeding many receptacles and lights,but each circuit must be protected by a separate circuit breaker or fuse.

This is usually a AWG#14,or#12 copper wire for 15 or 20 amp receptacles.

There is a coincidence factor to be considered in that all receptacle will not be used at the same time.Then regardless,the wire feeding the receptacle must be protected with the proper size breaker or fuse.

The reason your breaker trips when you have too many things on at the same time is because the breaker is protecting the wire.

All receptacles within 6 feet of a sink in a kitchen must have a separate GFCI breaker or a GFCI receptacle.All bathroom receptacles must be GFCI protected.All outside receptacles must also be GFCI protected if they are ground level accessible.

The op implied connection directly to a 60 amp breaker,which is physically impossible due to the size of the terminals on the plug without a wire between the breaker and the plug,and consequently this wire must be protected by a circuit breaker or fuse.

It could be done with a separate sub fed panel and breaker,and the panel could support many branch circuits.The total of the circuit breakers in a panel can exceed the main breaker amps because all circuits will not be used to the max all the time.

This is based on the NFPA(NEC)70,2020 . Things may be different where you live.

I think that you are thinking 32 amp & greater plugs have a 32 amp fuse built into them. They do not. Most of the world does not have fuses in their domestic electric plugs.

Rule one of electric wiring is that every conductor is protected against overcurrent, so it is unlikely to overheat enough that it does not last its required life [you could put an appliance cord under a carpet, making it too hot, but normal practice is to make appliance cords integral and so short as to make it difficult].

Rule two is that every conductor is protected against short circuit.

Statistically, electrically started fires kill many more people than electrocution.

Rule three is that you/animals cannot be connected to a dangerous voltage, hence all the enclosures and insulation [which also serve rules 1 & 2].

Modern gadgets like RCDs are additional to these for increased safety.

The UK "ring final" circuit, which some claim is the "invention of lucifer himself", is standard there. Typically, it is a loop of (usually) 2.5mm² cable coming out of the breaker, feeding any number of <...13 Amp sockets...> on the fixed installation, and galloping back to the same breaker. Downstream portable appliance cords are protected by the <...13 Amp...> or lower rating fuses in each plug or equivalent switch-fuse outlet, and the fixed installation circuit is protected by the upstream fuse or <...breaker...> at the consumer unit. It has special provisions for testing and certification in BS7671 that Electricians in the UK use routinely.

Two <...13 Amp...> loads are no problem on a "ring final". Add a third or more and it is only a matter of time before the fuse or <...breaker...> opens to protect the fixed installation - the higher the load the shorter the clearance time.

It was developed following the 1939-1945 conflict as a means of ensuring recovery with the minimum expenditure on copper, which was an expensive import at the time. As an alternative to a "ring final", a "radial final" circuit could also be connected to the same size of breaker, with an unlimited number of 13A sockets, though the cable needs to be up-sized to 4mm². In most cases, a "ring final" circuit in 2.5mm² will use less copper to do the same job, and these days the value of copper compared to many other things is less significant.