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Does Cold Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Similar to most 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 which reflects the tank level. Usually, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold weather and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the climate, the tank level may not go up as much as anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tank's gauge shows you what fraction of the tank is full. Typically, tanks are not filled more than 80% so as to allow the gas to expand on hot days. Like for instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects about 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is about the amount which can be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The propane industry manages the popular website Propane 101, which considers the propane reference point to be an exterior temperature of 60 degrees. Like for instance, if the gauge reads 50% of capacity on a day when the temperature is close to 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will have roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. In the same way, if the temperature is a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher since the gas expanded.

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
The amount of energy contained or energy contained in a tank will not change when 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
If a homeowner orders 100 gallons of propane to be delivered, they would be given 424 lbs. 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 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 result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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