Does Cold Really Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Like the majority of other kinds of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. As the temperature goes down, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the tank level. Normally, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold climate and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the weather conditions, the level on the tank may not go up as much as expected.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank shows you what percentage of the tank is full. Usually, tanks are not filled more than 80% so as to allow the gas to expand on hot temperatures. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects around 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is roughly how much is able to be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The website 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 about 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 because the gas expanded.

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
The amount of energy contained or energy contained in a tank will not change as the gas either contracts or expands, based on the propane industry website. 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 pounds of propane. If the homeowner has a 1000 gallon propane tank, they could expect the gauge to go up by 10% with the delivery of 100 gallons. These numbers will be correct if the temperatures were near 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather, these chillier temperatures would cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.