Does Cold Really Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Propane is similar to the majority of other kinds of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts when the temperature declines. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the tank level. Often, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold weather conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the weather conditions, the tank level may not rise as much as anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tank's gauge shows you what portion of the tank is full. Usually, tanks are not filled more than 80% in order to allow the gas to expand on hot temperatures. Like for instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects roughly 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is roughly how much can 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 instance, if the gauge reads 50 percent of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank would have approximately 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge will read lower. In the same way, if the temperature is a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher due to the expansion of the gas.

Effect of Expansion and Contraction
The amount of energy contained or energy contained inside a tank would not change as the gas either contracts or expands, 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
If a homeowner orders 100 gallons of propane to be delivered, they would receive 424 lbs. 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 took place during colder weather, these chillier temperatures will cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.