Let's play bust Catt's chops.
Have to move that decimal point again. Heavy duty aluminum foil is in the .0017 range.
And actually an economy stainless pot could very well be .017 thick.
Not really. I just found this reference a moment ago and other sources seem to agree on 0.045" as the thickness for heavy duty aluminum foil (ie Reynolds Wrap):
http://www.instawares.com/reynolds-wrap-heavy-duty.627reyn.0.7.htm
Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil - Roll - 24'' x 1000'
Now the #1 Name in Household Foil is Available in a
Foodservice Package
* Highest Quality Foil -- Setting the standard with the heaviest gauge product available for stronger foil and superior performance over any other foodservice foil.
* Highest Quality Carton -- Revolutionary new wipable carton with a proprietary coating that serves as a permanent barrier to grease, water and spills in the foodservice kitchen.
* Guaranteed Quality -- Reynolds Wrap® Premium Foodservice Foil comes with a guarantee of quality and complete satisfaction with every purchase, or your purchase price will be refunded.
*
Thickness -- .045"
Here's another:
http://www.reliablepaper.com/Reynolds_Wrap_Heavy_Aluminum_Foil_12x500_p/rey620.htm
Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil
Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil is the most versatile of all food wrapping materials. It can withstand both heat and cold. Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil was first introduced in 1947. Since that time it has become one of the most immediately identifiable brands on the market. Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil is 98.5% aluminum. The balance is primarily iron and silicon. These are added to give the strength and puncture resistance obtained only in the alloy used in Reynolds household foil. Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil contains no recycled material and complies with U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements for direct contact with food.
How It Is Made
The brand that is known and sold all over the world is manufactured in two locations -- Louisville, Kentucky and Richmond, Virginia. Aluminum for Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil is placed into alloying furnaces at the continuous cast plant in Hot Springs, Arkansas and heated until molten. It is then modified to the correct alloy chemistry and fed into a machine known as a continuous caster. The continuous caster converts molten aluminum to a coil of metal by forcing it between large, water cooled chill rollers at several feet per minute.
The aluminum is formed as a long sheet with a thickness of .045. It's rolled into large coils that measure 74 inches in diameter and weigh over 30,000 pounds! These coils are shipped in Reynolds specially designed rail cars to Richmond and Louisville, where they are converted into the Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil we all know.
Yes, I suppose you could find some really cheap SS pots as thin as 0.017" but I don't think you will see many that thin made of aluminum. The common late model aluminum beer & soda cans are about 0.005" thick (or thin, I suppose), so 0.017" would be only a little more than three times the thickness of an aluminum beer can. That's still pretty thin IMO.
