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Does Cold Temperature Actually Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Like the majority of other types of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. When the temperature goes down, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the level on the tank. Normally, this comes into play whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold weather and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the weather conditions, the level on the tank may not rise as much as anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank shows you what fraction of the tank is full. Usually, tanks are not filled more than 80% in order to allow the gas to expand on warm days. For instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects about 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is about the amount that could be stored.

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

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
The amount of energy contained or energy contained inside a tank would not change as the gas either expands or contracts, based on the propane industry website. 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 would receive about 424 pounds 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 close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather conditions, these chillier temperatures will cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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