Traxxas EZ-Peak Dual iD Charger Review
While Traxxas is primarily known for making the most successful line of rc cars our industry has ever seen, they also offer a lot of accessories. One of their latest chargers, the EZ-Peak Dual, features their iD battery identification connectors and has dual ports to get more packs charged in less time. Recently we put the EZ-Peak Dual through its paces to see how it stood up in the bashing environment. Does it give a quality charge? Is it easy to use? Did we have any issues? Most importantly, is it worth your cash? Read on to find out…
From: Traxxas
Direct Link: EZ-Peak Dual iD
Review By: Cubby
Pictures By: Tim Mohr
Specs:
Single or Dual Output: Dual
AC/DC: AC only, 100-240V
Supported Cell Chemistries: LiPo and NiMH
Charge Current Range: 1-4 amps (dual mode) or 5-8 amps (single high output mode)
Discharge Current: 500mAh
LiPo Cell Count: 2-3
NiMH Cell Count: 5-8
Weight: 575 grams
Size: 176 x 138 x 57mm
Cooling Fan: Yes
Balance Ports: Yes, JST/XH
Price: $99
Pros-
The EZ-Peak was made to make life easy for noobs, hence the reason it was set-up to use Traxxas iD battery connectors. When using packs with iD plugs it indeed extremely simple to use- just plug a pack in, hit start, and watch until your pack was finished.
Like any dual output charger, it sure is nice to do two packs at once. This is especially true if you are running multiple cars, requiring multiple packs.
While some chargers like to false peak on NiMH packs, we never experienced that with the EZ-Peak. We found that NiMH packs came off warm to the touch with decent power compared to using other chargers.
We also found that the quality of charge on LiPos was also good. Our LiPo battery charged quickly on the “fast” charge setting and had good power.
After a couple months of abuse, we had no issues with the charger. It never got too hot, never shut off, it just did was it was supposed to do, charge batteries.
The fan wasn’t crazy loud and we liked that. Also, the tones that alert you when a pack is finished were of a nice frequency and about the right output level.
Cons-
While most of the LED lights on the EZ-Peak were of “normal” brightness, the two blue ones used on the start buttons are insanely bright. Crazy bright is great when used outdoors, but when used indoors we actually had to use a hand to cover the blue lights so we could look at the information being displayed on the rest of the charger.
If you only bash where you have a handy AC outlet life is good with the EZ-Peak. However, if you bash where most people do (parks, empty lots, etc), the charger does not take DC power.
While 8 amps of charge power used to be a lot, now days it isn’t that much. If you plan on charging big packs (above 3S), or charging at high rates (above 8 amps), the EZ-Peak isn’t for you.
Oh those wonderful iD connectors… if every pack you own has them (or “legacy TRX connectors), you are dialed. If not, you’ll have to solder up an adapter. This means that is you run Deans, Tamiya, Castle, Power Pole, EC3, etc, you can’t just plug a pack in and charge it.
We would have liked to have seen an LCD display instead of simple LED lights. There are other dual output chargers at the same price point with them, the Traxxas should have one too.
Conclusion-
Traxxas has indeed made a charger that helps make the hobby easier for noobies. If you run the EZ-Peak with batteries using iD connectors, charging could not be easier. However, if you are a long time hobbyist where you have a wide variety of cell chemistries, a wide variety of cell counts, and most of your packs use different connectors, you will want to look elsewhere.
