Does Cold Temperature Truly Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Propane is like 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 that reflects the tank level. Usually, this happens whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the weather, the tank level may not go up as much as anticipated.

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

Normal Temperatures
The web site Propane 101, that is managed by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the baseline or reference point. Like for instance, if the gauge reads 50 percent of capacity on a day when the temperature is close to 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank would contain around 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. Also, if the temperature is a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge would actually read higher since the gas expanded.

Effect of Expansion and Contraction
The amount of energy contained or energy contained inside a tank would 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
The homeowner who orders 100 gallons of propane will be given approximately 424 lbs. 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 would be correct if the temperatures were near 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery took place during colder weather, these chillier temperatures would cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.