I put some water in it last night and it works but the stir bar looses it place at higher speeds. I'm just gonna order a flask.
I have a 2L and a 5L flask, and both of these will throw the stir bar if I get the speed up high enough. It's important to remember that a high spin rate is totally unnecessary. Barely turning around is actually fine. All you are trying to do is keep the liquid circulating.
I thought the goal was to get a vortex started, not a top to bottom one, but one that is at least an inch deep or so. Does a much lower rate of mixing create enough turnover to really boost the oxygen transfer to the starter wort?