For a general class of gas models ---which includes discrete and continuous Gibbsian models as well as contour or polymer ensembles--- we determine a \emph{diluteness condition} that implies: (1) Uniqueness of the infinite-volume equilibrium measure; (2) stability of this measure under perturbations of parameters and discretization schemes, and (3) existence of a coupled perfect-simulation scheme for the infinite-volume measure together with its perturbations and discretizations. Some of these results have previously been obtained through methods based on cluster expansions. In contrast, our treatment is purely probabilistic and its diluteness condition is weaker than existing convergence conditions for cluster expansions.