SRS... vent hole. Yup. It's sold separate at the checkout. I like Wrigley's Spearmint the best. But, no need because the lid fits pretty tightly. In Scookers without a "vent hole" there are two slots in the cookware and they have a slightly "undersized" lid on accounta SOME steam has gotta be let off. The vent is just another way of doing it and it allows the use of the probe.

I filled it 2/3 full with water and took the temp at 1.5h on low. 140F. Turned it to high and the temp was 140F after another hour. Since I didn't plug the vent, it appears to me that it will work properly when cooking food.

Now, how long do you cook spuds in the Scooker? Hmmmm. I must get the wattage and do some calculations on energy consumption. In the summer, it's gonna get a lot of use. In the winter... it will depend on various factors, energy consumption being one as I have forced air electric heating.