A tricky resource to manage when you are out camping or on safari is cooking fuels such as gas. It is important to get a fair idea of the amount of gas you will require within a given time frame. If you can calculate how your cooker uses gas to the hour, it will help you to calculate the number of meals you will cook, how many hours that will require and subsequently how much gas you will reasonably consume. Here are a few tips to save gas.

One of the best travel items you can invest in before travel is a pressure cooker as it is a very heat efficient pan. Make sure that you keep both the inner and outer surfaces of your pans shiny so that they transmit the maximum heat possible to your cooking. Dull and blackened pans are not heat efficient as they tend to draw in heat rather than act as a transmission channel for heat. When cooking, always turn the heat to low on the pan as soon as your cooking starts to boil as you do not need any extra heat to maintain a boiling point.

Also plan your cooking and your meals around food that will not need long cooking hours. Meals that are vegetable and whole wheat oriented will require less cooking time which will cumulatively save you a lot of gas. Avoid boiling water unnecessarily as this is a heat intensive exercise. There are many travelers that have unfounded fears on the quality of the water available for a shower and for cleaning clothes. The human skin typically can handle a lot of germs and you only need to add a slight portion of antibacterial solution or wash with antibacterial soaps to keep most infections at bay. For drinking, ensure you drink bottled water and you should be fine.

Another way to save on your gas costs is to use a charcoal fire. However, one of the main challenges of using a charcoal fire is lighting it up. Here is the best way to light charcoal: put a small heap of charcoal together. If you have a lighting fluid, sprinkle it on top of the charcoal and put a match to it. An alternative to the lighting fluid is to put dry and crumpled newsprint at the base of the pile of coals and to arrange them around the paper. Then light the paper, and keep adding it until the coals catch fire.