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I am living by myself, and sometimes my LPG (liquefied petroleum gas - a fuel tank) will run out of gas while I am still cooking and in need of it. This results in an unfinished food. I am hungry and I still need to go to work, what should I do?

Some of the actions that I do include:

  1. I'll just leave the unfinished food there and cook it later when I get back with refilled LPG. But this isn't good all the time because the food might not be in a good condition during those long hours.

  2. Ask someone to cook it for me - I can only do this if I am familiar enough to the people around me.

  3. Eat those foods even if they are not still cooked - one word, EEEWW! This entirely depends on what food it is.

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Depending on the food, you could try a Flambé, basically give the food a healthy splash of alcohol and set it on fire to cook the food the rest of the way.

If the food your cooking wouldn't taste right drenched in alcohol you can still use high proof alcohol as a fuel to cook the food.

Simply pour a couple of ounces in the bottom of a heavy pot and light it, you can then hold your other pan over the naked flame. Be careful though alcohol tends to burn with a nearly invisible blueish flame, so it may be lit without looking like it is.

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    Flambeing will not impart enough energy to even finish cooking eggs safely. the purpose of a Flambe is typically just for 'show' and to eliminate the ethanol of the spirit, leaving behind the flavor. It feels hot initially, but the flame typically lasts only for several seconds. It rarely has enough energy to cause any browning or caramelizing of surface sugars. How is that supposed to cook food? This seems impractical and unsafe. I highly doubt it would actually cook the food.
    – BrownRedHawk
    Commented Mar 18, 2015 at 15:32
  • @BrownRedHawk do you have any sources for this? If yes, then I might removed the marked as an answer for this.
    – Cary Bondoc
    Commented Aug 18, 2015 at 0:07
  • 12,500 BTU Per pound 2oz of 100 proof spirits 1 oz ethanol (pure) = 0.05 lb 625 btus in 2oz shot of 100 proof alcohol 21k btus per pound propane Stove 8000 btus per hour 5 min cook time 667 btus in 5 min... There for, theoretically 2oz of booze = 5 min of propane cooking. However, in practice, the flambe releases its heat very quickly and not directed into the food. Point: stove heat underneath food, flambe burns almost above, and heat travels up. Also, sorry for the format. Did all this on my phone.
    – BrownRedHawk
    Commented Aug 18, 2015 at 1:40
  • Also, if you have access to rubbing, dematured, methanol, or similar alcohol, you can make a jet stove with things like a popcan. Much better use of alcohol (unless you're drinking it)
    – BrownRedHawk
    Commented Aug 18, 2015 at 1:42
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Keep an additional LPG in the nearest safe place which you can replace the old one with. I don't think that if you already prepared a spare LPG you'll spend much time to do the replace.

Also, should know how much gas left in your cylinder. There is how originlpg.com.au suggest to check how much fuel left in your gas cylinder to avoid running out of it unexpectedly:

If you use LPG cylinders, you can check how much gas is left by using the hot water test. Carefully pour hot water down the side of the cylinder and then, after a few moments, run your hand down it. It will feel cool to the touch at the level of the gas. Of course, exercise caution when handling the hot water.

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    Down vote: your essentially saying try not to run out of LPG, the question asks what to do when LPG runs out.
    – Jon
    Commented Dec 14, 2014 at 0:36
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    Paying attention to your situation is not a life-hack for the oblivious?
    – cpt_fink
    Commented Dec 23, 2014 at 5:34
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I've used a toaster oven to finish food when my lpg tank ran out. I've also used my rice cooker as well.

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    Yes, rice cooker is a good temporary substitute.
    – Cary Bondoc
    Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 2:07
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    Depending on the kind of food, a microwave might work as well.
    – Lawrence
    Commented Aug 23, 2018 at 23:48
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Depending on what you cook, and what the wheather and sun conditions are at that time, you could try it with a makeshift solar oven. I do that sometimes when camping and the nearest place to get gas is too far away to walk hungry. All you really need is aluminum foil and sunlight.

Just wrap some cardboard or similar into aluminum foil and arrange them so that they all redirect sunlight to whatever you want to cook. For keeping the heat better, put it into a box that is black from the inside and cover the open top (where you direct the sunlight into) with something transparent.

Steak that way doesn't taste great, but at least it is not raw...

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Use a small, camping butane gas stove with cartridges as a backup if you have the space.

They are easy to set up, start. It will double as a way for making a hot drink on a long drive or picnic.

They are also inexpensive (~$25 AUD), and can sit around till needed.

Butane gas portable stove.

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