1 circuit, 12/3, 1 switched, 1 not -- code?

[pawlowsk002]

Hey electrical froods:

I have some receptacles and a light to wire. I plan to:

Feed the switch box with 12/2 NM

Run 12/3 from the switch box to the light, with both hots connected to the switch box feed hot, the red switched, the black unswitched.

Connect the light to the red and the neutral.

Run 12/2 to the receptacles, connected to the black and neutral of the 12/3 in the switch box, for unswitched power.

Since all my circuit conductors are always in one cable, and there is no way to overload any conductor of the 12/3 without overloading the 12/2 that feeds it, and I'm not paralleling because the red and black are connected only at one end, would this not comply with code? I can't find anything against it, and it's neater than running two separate 12/2 cables. It's basically what you do with a ceiling fan, but with the circuit continuing past the end of the 12/3.

[gfretwell]

Sounds normal to me. That is also how they wire "half hot" duplex receptacles (one switched one not)

[Doug Miller]

Yep. All fine.

[LayPerson Tom]

imho:

Nothing sounds crazy, just one thing I would suggest. If you are feeding your fan, you might want to have that wall switched too. This way your pull chain won't break with time (I've broken a few).

I later upgraded all my ceiling fans to speed controlers on the wall.

tom @

[pawlowsk002]

LPT:

That's an excellent idea, and I do that whenever I can, just because the dangling chain is a nuisance. (you still, of course, have the speed control, but I find I don't adjust that very often, so I can leave it short). In this case, however, the light is an outdoor wall fixture.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

Cordially yours: GP

[RBM]

Sounds fine to me except for one thing: What's a frood?

[Toller]

Donno, but you responded to it!

[RBM]

Do you think I've been insulted?

[pawlowsk002]

RBM:

A frood is "a really amazingly together guy" (in the Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy)

(a frood always knows where his towel is)

[Harry]

Yes.

"It looks like a molecular hyperwave pincer to me."

Sorry about that last thing. It needed saying.