Should I apply to the PBE for the purpose of trying out champions, etc...?

Hi everyone,

I started playing league in April 2014. I reached level 30 in late November or December, and started playing ranked last week (where I placed Silver 1 and was subsequently demoted to Silver 2 after a losing streak).

Needless to say, I'm still relatively new and hence, have a relatively small champion pool. Which is fine, I like only focusing on a few champions and making sure I know how to play my champions well. Heck, there are even a decent number of champions I own that I've never even played (e.g. Ashe and Annie, cheap 450IP buys that I did on a whim - I should definitely play some Annie although I never get around to it). Anyways though, obviously I want to expand my roster. Further though, I like to try new things. Hecarim was my first jungle choice way back to when I first started despite him being consistently considered a low quality pick (and look where he is now, over a 10% pick rate).

So, I was saving up 4800IP for Leona when I randomly decided I might prefer Maokai support as I think he could work there. My problem is, I've never played Maokai, let alone played him as a support (I've also only played Leona once or twice). I obviously don't have the IP to waste on trying something out if it doesn't work (I have 6 rune pages full of T3 runes, i.e. I've spent way more IP on runes than champions and really need to expand that pool).

So I randomly thought today, don't PBE users get a ludicrous amount of free IP and RP on the PBE account to test content? Of course I'd still use the PBE to test new content, but having access to lots of champions I don't own in the live game would allow me to try things out like Maokai support and decide if I like it and be an overall low cost to ensuring I spend my live IP wisely?

My concerns: Is there a play-commitment to the PBE? I wouldn't have time to play much on the PBE (I already wish I could play the live game more, so maybe 1-2 games per week). How long does it take to get approved (they just approved a huge wave, so I probably wouldn't get in for a while although it'd be smart to start an application now if I want to make use in the future).

Anything else I should know?

Thanks!