How much camping gas you need for a weekend depends on the meals, the stove and how long it runs. Counting cartridges without considering any of those things can leave you carrying too much—or watching the flame disappear before breakfast.
Use the stove maker’s consumption figure as a planning input, then improve the estimate with a rehearsal of your own menu. Treat the result as an estimate with a reserve, rather than a promised number of meals.
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Write down the jobs your stove will do
A weekend of tea, instant porridge and one-pot dinners is different from frying breakfast for six people. List the hot drinks and meals, the number of people, and whether each cooking job needs one burner or two. Include washing-up water only if your campsite arrangement actually requires you to heat it.
This exercise often saves more fuel than buying a different stove. A meal with several sequential frying stages can keep a burner running much longer than expected. Preparing ingredients in advance and choosing dishes that share one pot makes the plan easier to predict.
A simple calculation
The basic estimate is gas consumption in grams per hour × operating time in hours. If a hypothetical burner uses 150 g/h at the setting being considered, 40 minutes of operation would use about 100 g: 150 × 40 ÷ 60. This is an arithmetic example, not a measured result for a particular stove.
For two burners, estimate each one’s running time separately and add the amounts. Do not double the total automatically if the second burner is used only briefly. Equally, a published figure for one burner cannot represent both running together.
Why the calculation is only a starting point
Published consumption and runtime figures reflect particular operating conditions. Your flame setting, wind exposure, starting water temperature, pan choice and cooking technique can change the result. A simmering meal will not necessarily consume gas at the same rate as a burner operating at maximum output.
As a model example, Campingaz lists the Camping Kitchen 2 CV at 2 × 145 g/h and identifies compatible CV300 Plus and CV470 Plus cartridges. Use your own stove’s figures and specified fuel, rather than copying these numbers into a different setup.
Rehearse one representative meal
- Use your actual camping stove, compatible fuel and planned cookware outdoors as instructed.
- Time the cooking stages, including the kettle if you normally make a drink afterwards.
- Record how many people the meal served and the conditions.
- Use that information to revise the rest of the weekend plan.
- Allow a reserve for extra drinks, slower cooking and changed plans.
There is no single reserve percentage that guarantees enough fuel for every trip. The more uncertain the conditions or the harder it is to obtain compatible fuel, the more cautiously you should plan. Include a meal that does not need cooking as a useful fallback.
Buy the compatible cartridge, not the nearest-looking one
If your stove specifically requires it, you can check Campingaz CV470 Plus on Amazon UK. Confirm the exact variant and pack quantity. A cartridge’s capacity does not tell you whether its connection or fuel mixture is suitable for your stove.
For a familiar summer weekend, a written menu and one practice cook should produce a more useful estimate than somebody else’s cartridge count. Keep those notes with your kit list: after a few trips, you will be planning from your own cooking habits.
For the wider choice of stove designs, see our guide to choosing a camping stove.
Reviewed 10 September 2026. This guide is based on published specifications and guidance.