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Does Cold Temperature Really Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Propane is similar to the majority of other types of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts when the temperature does down. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the level on the propane tank. Usually, this happens whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the weather conditions, the level on the tank might not go up as much as expected.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tank's gauge shows you what percentage of the tank is full. Typically, tanks are not filled over 80% so as to enable the gas to expand during warm days. Like for instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects approximately 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around how much is able to be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The website Propane 101, which is managed by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the reference or baseline point. For example, if the gauge reads 50% of capacity on a day when the temperature is close to 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank would contain roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge will read lower. Similarly, if the temperature is much higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher due to the expansion of the gas.

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
The energy contained or amount of energy contained inside a tank would not change as the gas either expands or contracts, according to the propane industry web site. The amount of propane itself has not changed, but just the density of the gas has changed.

Cold-Weather Delivery
The homeowner who orders 100 gallons of propane will be given roughly 424 pounds of propane. With the delivery of 100 gallons, the homeowner with a 1000 gallon propane tank could expect the guage to go up by 10%. These numbers will be correct if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather conditions, these chillier temperatures will cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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