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Does Cold Temperature Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Similar to most other types of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. When the temperature declines, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the tank level. Normally, this happens whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the weather, the tank level might not go up as much as expected.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tanks guage would show what percentage of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are usually not filled over 80% full because this would allow for the gas to expand on warmer days. Like for example, 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 web site Propane 101, that is managed by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the reference or baseline point. Like for instance, if the gauge reads 50% of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will contain about 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. Similarly, if the temperature is a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher since the gas expanded.

Effect of Expansion and Contraction
According to the information provided by the propane industry website, the amount of energy contained inside the tank does not actually change when the gas contracts or expands. 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 receive 424 pounds of propane. If the homeowner has a 1000 gallon propane tank, they can expect the gauge to go up by 10% with the delivery of 100 gallons. These numbers would 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 would cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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