Cracks Developing in Straight-Sided Stainless Steel Vessels Over the years I have acquired several grades and sizes of (straight-sided) stainless steel storage containers - some from India and some from US (origin unknown). My expectation had always been that these containers would endure, however, several have not.  The symptom is always the development of a vertical crack in the side of the container. Those with lids tend to crack near the top edge and over the excess band running around the perimeter upon which the lid lip would rest when set upon the container.  The net with these is an un-rounding of the shape of the container and a cumbersome fit for the lid.  Most recently I found a prominent crack in another container.  This one with a rolled lip and no lid, and normally used to store utensils on the counter top. It had no defects before I used it to brew yogurt and then store in the refrigerator.
Its' crack developed also vertically along the sidewall near it's upper third but well below the lip.  The others may too have spent time in the 'fridge, or otherwise exposed to cold, and or acid - eg salty pickle juice. 

Now, while disappointing I'd like to avoid future failures and narrow the source of the problem down to quality, handling, or simply expectations.

Any solid knowledge or matched experiences welcomed.
Stainless steel, as you would know, is an alloy with more than 80 percent iron, with chromium and nickel being the other components. Chromium brings shine and nickel brings elasticity to stainless steel.

Nickel is a costly alloy, it costs 20 times iron - and hence most low-grade stainless steel is made from zero to 2 percent nickel, when it should ideally be 8 percent for a good grade.

When buying stainless steel you can see the grades are marked on it. A mark of 18/8 (18 parts of chromium and 8 parts of nickel) is considered a good grade which will normally not crack.

I hope I was of help