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Does Cold Temperature Really Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Propane is similar to nearly all 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 tank level. Usually, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold climate and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the weather, the level on the tank may not go up as much as anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tank's gauge shows you what fraction of the tank is full. Usually, tanks are not filled more than 80% in order to enable the gas to expand during hot temperatures. Like for example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects approximately 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is about the amount which is able to be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The propane industry manages the popular website Propane 101, that considers the propane baseline point to be an exterior temperature of 60 degrees. Like for example, if the gauge reads 50 percent of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will contain approximately 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. Also, if the temperature is much higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher since the gas expanded.

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
The amount of energy contained or energy contained inside a tank will not change when the gas either expands or contracts, based on the propane industry web site. The amount of propane itself has not changed, but only the density of the gas has changed.

Cold-Weather Delivery
If a homeowner orders 100 gallons of propane to be delivered, they would be given 424 pounds of propane. If the homeowner has a 1000 gallon propane tank, they may expect the gauge to go up by 10% with the delivery of 100 gallons. These numbers will be accurate if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather, these chillier temperatures will cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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