Update: Check out my review of the Vitamix Stainless Steel container (released in July 2020). In my opinion, it is better than the Waring one described below. Here’s a direct link to the new container.
A number of people have asked me if there is a stainless steel or glass Vitamix jar. If you’ve been wondering, this page is for you!
Vitamix used to make their containers out of stainless steel, but in the early ’90s they switched over to transparent polycarbonate to allow you to see what you are blending. (The old stainless steel Vitamix containers are not compatible with the current Vitamix models.) Then in 2007 Vitamix switched over to BPA-free Tritan copolymer. Some people don’t like the way a plastic container gets scratched up over time, and others are concerned about preparing food in any sort of plastic container. Mother Jones has covered how BPA-free may not be helpful when it comes to avoiding estrogenic plastics.
I personally don’t think the risk is high, and I am continuing to use my Tritan containers, but I understand if you want to avoid them.
Waring makes a line of high speed blenders that uses the same 12-splined coupling that Vitamix does, and somewhat surprisingly, the Waring pitchers fit on current Vitamix models. Further, Waring makes a stainless steel container that fits the Vitamix drive shaft. [This page includes affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase after clicking a link, Joy of Blending may receive a percentage of the sale. (Thank you!)]
Keep in mind, however, that neither Waring nor Vitamix have approved their products for use with the other company’s products, so if any damage occurs, the warranty may be voided. But this is the only stainless steel option for current Vitamix models. Another option is to buy the Waring model that comes with this container, although the Waring warranty is not as long as Vitamix’s, and they are not as home-customer friendly as Vitamix.
The other thing to note is that the rubber centering pad (the black rubber piece on the top of the base with four posts that the jar sits on) of the consumer Vitamix models is not a perfect fit for the Waring container. The posts are slightly too high. So instead of the container sitting on the pad, it sits on the tops of the posts, about 1/8″ off the pad. It is functional like this, but it seems slightly less stable, and it means that the drive shaft is not fully engaged. The gap looks like this:
I see a few options. You could just leave it, as is, and it would probably be fine. Or you could trim the posts by ~1/8″, although you would probably have to seal them because they are hollow, and I suspect that if you cut off the tops, then they would be open, which is non-ideal. I think you could seal them with some silicone glue.
The best option, in my opinion, is to get a different centering pad. It turns out that Vitamix makes a centering pad (15578) with shorter posts for some of their commercial models.
I checked, and the 15578 centering pad fits perfectly on the consumer Vitamix models. It allows you to use the Waring jar with no gap, and it also works with the Vitamix jars. The image at the top of this page shows the Waring Jar on a Vitamix 7500 using this 15578 centering pad, with no gap. (The centering pad is easy to swap on and off: it’s flexible, and it’s a pressure fit—you just pull it up, or push it on.)
This 15578 centering pad works on both C- and G-Series Vitamix models, which covers all of the home models sold since the early 1990s, with the exception of the smaller S-Series personal blenders. Here’s a link to the centering pad on Amazon. It also works on the commercial Vita-Prep and Advance machines. [Update: the 15578 centering pad does not fit on the Explorian Series, because Vitamix slightly changed the plastic posts that poke up into the pad. You can still use the CAC90 with the Explorian pad, but you will have the slight gap shown in the photo above. The CAC90 will not work with the Ascent Series, because it does not have a NFC chip.]
The stainless steel container is not cheap. Its price fluctuates on Amazon, so check for current prices.
Finally, keep in mind that the Vitamix tampers are not compatible with the Waring jar.
If you’re curious about what the different centering pads look like, clockwise from top left in the following images are the pads for the Vitamix Advance, Waring, Vitamix G-Series, and Vitamix C-Series:
Note the taller style posts on the C- and G-Series Vitamix pads. Also note the indentations on the bottoms of the Vitamix pads are identical (that’s where the four posts on the base secure the pad), but The Waring indentations are different. The Waring pad cannot be used on Vitamix bases.
And this is what the bottom of the Waring container looks like:
The stainless steel jar blends satisfactorily. You obviously can’t see how things are blending as easily. I haven’t done this, but if you really miss the tamper, you could make your own out of wood dowels. (Drill through a smaller cross bar at the appropriate height to prevent it from hitting the blades.)
There is no glass jar for any high-speed blender. Vitamix has said that this is because of safety concerns. They do not want a glass jar to shatter when someone accidentally drops a metal spoon into it when it’s running.
Thanks so much for your post. I finally can get my hands on vitamix without worrying about plastic leeching into my food.
This is a very informative website, thank you for saving me the trial and error process. I am planning to change to the Vitamix professional series with a stainless steel case, and the Waring container will look great on it. We love our Vitamix and it is going strong after more than a decade of use, but when we got ours they didn’t make it in stainless yet. Our kitchen has stainless appliances throughout, so when we upgrade to a stainless one we can use the black one at our beach condo. I’m sure it will run for another decade.
I appreciate your site. I’ve been making bulletproof coffee in my plastic vitamix and need a better option. I have the pro 300 G series. Is the vitamix 15578 centering pad the one I need to go with the CAC90, and do I need the vitamix drive socket kit? Amazon says both those items are often purchased with the CAC90. Do you know if the CAC90 is made of food grade stainless steel and made in the USA? I left waring a voicemail and sent an email several months ago and both were ignored. Thanks Adam!
Your Pro 300 is identical to the 7500 in the photos above. So, yes, the 15578 centering pad is the one I recommend. (Though you can get by with the pad that is already on your machine.)
You do not need the drive socket kit (unless you have problems with your drive socket). You can change the centering pad without removing the drive socket.
The CAC90 is indeed made of food-grade stainless steel, and I’ve seen it listed as made in the USA. I’ve also seen that it is NSF listed.
It is in Waring’s commercial line, so they basically ignore home users.
Do we know what the “top” of the stainless steel pitcher is made of? Thanks for any info, and for a brilliant topic here.
Do you mean the lid? The lid is a black rubber material, though I do not details beyond that.
Hi, thank you so much for doing the footwork on this and I look forward to ordering from your link! I wanted to ask you I noticed that wearing made the glass container, and even though it’s not recommended for use in case someone drops a metal spoon in it… Are the wearing glass ones still applicable.? In other words do you think if I got one of the where in glass jars I could use it as well ?
Thanks! I look forward to being on your site more!
All of the glass Waring containers that I’ve seen are for smaller blenders, and they would not fit on a Vitamix. (Waring makes a pretty wide range of blender sizes. The line that uses the same coupling as Vitamix is the “Xtreme” line.)
Does the Waring Commercial CAC90 Stainless Steel Container, 64oz fit onto the Vitamix Turboblend VS?
Yes
I have an older stainless steel Vitamix 4000 with stainless pitcher. I need to replace the male drive on the motor base and the blade assembly. It appears that the newer Vitamix female drive could be attached to the motor shaft on the base, and the new male blade assembly into the stainless steel pitcher. Has anyone done this? Does it work? I sure hate the idea of giving up the our old reliable 4000 for the newer model if I don’t have to.
Hi there,
Good for you for not just tossing away a perfectly good piece of quality machinery for a newer one! There are plenty of vitamix 3600+ and 4000 blenders on ebay for very cheap, so you could always just buy a base or a whole base/container combo and use them for spare/extra parts.
Or…
I’m in the process of updating my Vita-Mix 3600+ (not sure how it’s different from the 4000, but they’re basically the same when it comes to the male and female parts you refer to). The drive shaft that was attached to the container sheared off so the base has sat unused for a few months. I ordered a specially designed $40 part on ebay yesterday (search “vitamix 4000 conversion”). The guy has great reviews, so far the only reviews for the conversion is that it works great. This part lets you use the modern Vitamix containers (and therefore, the CAC90 Waring stainless steel container) with the 3600+ and 4000 bases. There ya go!
Hi Noah~
I wasn’t too sure who I should ask, so just in case you are still viewing this post or commenting.
I wanted to convert my Vitamix 4000 container to sit on the 5200 base.
Can I take the assembly out of the 5200 regular plastic container and just reassemble it into the 4000? If not– where/whom did you go to for a conversion kit on eBay?
Need your advice on whether the waring stainless steel jug and vitamix centering pad(as U hv mentioned) can fit a Vitamix Prep-3?
Yes, it should fit.
I also have a Vita Prep 3 (a commercial Vitamix) – did I understand correctly that if I want to buy the Waring Stainless Steel Jug, I also need to buy that Vitamix centering pad, in addition? (Sorry if it is obvious, but wanted to make sure.)
If you don’t get the new centering pad, there will be the gap as shown in the post. If you get the new centering pad, the CAC90 will sit on your machine without the gap. It works both ways, but many people are more comfortable without having the gap.
Thank you so much for your article !!! I was desperately looking for a solution to have a blender both powerful and healthy (non toxic), and I couldn’t find it anywhere :-/ That’s really a great relief 🙂
Hello,
Thanks for all of your research.
I have an old stainless Vitamix. The plastic cap/top/lid is cracked. Do you know where I can find a replacement cap?
Thanks
Jo?
I’m not sure if you’ll find it there, but try looking on eBay.
Is there a glass blender container option for the vitamix that you know of? Thanks for the info.
Nope
Would the Commercial CAC34 Complete Glass Container fit using the centering pad (15578) with shorter posts?
Only containers for Waring’s “Xtreme” line will fit on a Vitamix.
What an informative web site! I just purchased a Vitamix E320 Would the warning CAC90 stainless steel work with this model? Thank you.
Yes
Thank you Adam. Do I need a different centering pad or is everything okay as is?
None of the compatible Vitamix machines *need* a different centering pad to use the CAC90. It’s just that the alternate pad I linked allows the container to sit slightly lower, without that gap shown in the second photo. However, I just tested, and the alternate pad (15578), does not fit on the E320.
Hi Adam – as many have already mentioned, I too thank you for taking that time and to share this solution (Blenders with plastic containers were stopping me fro using them, and now, thanks to your solution, I will start).
Question 1: I’ve read that “Every angle of the Vitamix container is designed to create our uniquely controlled vortex, systematically folding ingredients back to the blades for faster, smoother blends.”
The above implies that Vitamix thinks its performance is in part due to the shape of their containers, and maybe even blades – given this and the fact that the Waring SS container and blades are different from Vitamix, will there be a impact to the performance? I would think so, otherwise Waring blenders would be considered better than Vitamix, yet that is not the case. What do you think?
Question 2: Is it possible/advisable to move the Vitamix blades into the Waring SS container?
Question 3: Can the Waring SS container/blades be used for both wet and dry ingredients? (With Vitamix we have to buy a separate dry container).
Question 4: What material is the lid of the Waring SS container made of? Plastic? It may not friction with food as much as the sides of container but still there may be some contact – hope it be silicone etc.
Thank you Adam and All.
1) If there is an impact on performance, it’s pretty hard to detect. The noticeable thing is that the Waring doesn’t come with a tamper, though as I mentioned in the post, you could make your own.
2) I have not tried putting Vitamix blades in the Waring, and I’ve never heard of anyone doing that. My guess is that it wouldn’t work, but it might. If you really wanted to do it and it didn’t quite fit, I bet you could permanently seal the Vitamix assembly on with JB Weld or something. But the Waring blade works fine.
3) The Waring blade is closest to the Vitamix wet blade, but note that the Vitamix wet blade can do dry blending. I have a video of it making a satisfactory flour from wheat berries. So yes, you can blend dry ingredients with the Waring container.
4) The lid is some sort of rubber material. Based on how it feels, I’m pretty sure it’s not silicone.
Thank you for this info, may I ask please – does the Waring stainless steel jar fit on the Vitamix Pro series 750? Thank you!
Yes, it fits just like in the photos in the post above. (The Pro 750 base is identical to the 7500, other than the presets on the dial.)
Thank you very much! Appreciate it.
I’ve read the Waring jar after a few time it starts to leak at the bottom, is it true?
How long have you use it?
Thank you!!
I’ve used mine for five years, and it has never leaked.
Seems like this container could be easily modified for vacuum blending as well.
Yes, good point! I forgot to mention it here, but I have vacuum blended with this container. The top of it is flat, so the simple lid design for Vitamix Ascent containers that I recently described recently works perfectly. All you need is a silicone sheet and a flat piece of acrylic.
The one thing I would add is that the opening is bigger than the Vitamix ones, which means more force is applied to the acrylic by the vacuum. I’ve used a 1/4″ acrylic top piece with the CAC90, and, under vacuum, it deformed enough to be noticeable. I’m not sure what the limit is, but, to be on the safe side, I would use a piece thicker than 1/4″. To continue using widely available scraps, you can sandwich together two 1/4″ pieces with acrylic cement.
Thanks a bunch for sharing your results vacuum blending with the CAC90!
Think I will try it out, but may just make my own lid and seal out of 1/2″ acrylic, rather than ordering the Ascent lid.
Cheers.
I have a blendtec motor. I cannot find and answer and I hope you know! Will the waring stainless steel jar fit on a blendtec blender motor?
The Blendtec drive shaft is different from the Vitamix one, so it will not directly fit. I once came across someone who rigged up an adapter, but I’m not sure how.
Hi
I’m so pleased to have found your site. Great stuff! I’m in Australia and have found a used Model VM0109 vitamix base and wondered if a Waring jug would fit on it. Do you have any idea? I’m not sure if the model numbers are the same here as in USA??
Yes. That model is basically the same as the 5200.
Thank you so much for the information! Could you please let me know if the Waring stainless steel jar fits on the Vitamix Vita-Prep 3? Do I need the new centering pad, CAC9?
Yes. More details in answers to the same question above.
Hi Adam~
I have a question related to the conversion of the Vitamix 4000 container- so it fits on the 5200.
What would be the problem in removing the entire blade assembly from a 5200 jar and placing it into the Vitamix 4000 container?
Am I literally missing a crucial part to allow them to sit properly?
If so – can you direct me to what I might need?
Much appreciation… forgive the question if you have already addressed this. I’d like to convert 2 containers to sit on the 5200.
Thank you
I do not know if that would work. I’ve never tried. I would not assume that it would work, but it might.