house wired with 12/2. Uses breakers with two small switches I assume for 15a service. Trying to replace sw/outlets with modern units. Old units took the 12ga wire for push in connections, are there modern units that will do the same? All I can find are units that only take 14ga.
Wiring – replacing older switches/outlets. House wired 12/2. Breakers with 2 small sw for 15a service. What switches/outlets to use
wiring
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Amazon shows them as available. Search for 'push button light switch' to find more variants (including 3 way and dimmer units).
There's no problem with anything you've suggested. You can use a 15 ampere breaker to protect 14 AWG copper conductors, without a problem. If you feel that 15 amperes is not enough for the receptacles, there is no problem installing 12 AWG wire with a 20 ampere breaker. It's completely up to you what you think is best. If the cost difference is not prohibitive, it may be worth installing #12 on a 20A breaker. Especially if you think you might plug in multiple higher load items at the same time (George Foreman and electric mower for example), or may consider adding additional receptacles in the future.
There is also no problem using a junction box to provide power to different devices. As long as the box is properly installed, accessible, sized appropriately, and adequately sealed.
Nothing in electrical code says that lights and receptacles cannot be on the same circuit. It's more of a guideline than a rule. The general idea is that if the vacuum trips the breaker, you don't want to be left standing in the dark.
The only problem I see, is with the GFCI receptacles in your drawing. You will not need two GFCI receptacles. You'll simply feed the second receptacle, from the load side of the GFCI receptacle. When wired this way, the GFCI receptacle provides protection to the downstream receptacle.
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Best Answer
Why would you even want that? Push-in (we call them "backstab") connections are notoriously unreliable. They are the direct cause of most "some of the outlets on the circuit went dead" type problems. Those result in a great deal of wheel-spinning for the novice DIY homeowner, as well as a lengthy "bug hunt", since it's a 50/50 chance whether it failed at the last good outlet, or the first bad one. It can take a homeowner a day of tail-chasing just to realize that.
The backstabs rated for multiple sizes of wire (#12 and #14) are even more unreliable, which is why UL revoked their listings. There is no such thing as a receptacle that takes #12 backstabs. The remaining backstabs on the market are #14 only.
If you're back-wiring because the wires are too short, that's a Code violation. Wires must come out 3" beyond the surface of the wall and be at least 6" of free length inside the box. You'd need to pull more cable in from inside the wall, if there's slack; otherwise move the box, replace the cable or extend it with an in-wall splice.
Needless to say, wire length is precious, and you should release or simply twist out the wires out of the old backstabs, NOT snip them off.
If you are not comfortable using the side screws, then step up from the 60 cent outlets to the $2.50 outlets, which provide a scheme many call "screw-and-clamp". This allows the screw to be also used as a clamp mechanism to allow back-wiring up to 2 wires under each screw. GFCI receps also provide this.