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Does Cold Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Like most other types of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. As 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. Often, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the 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. Normally, tanks are not filled over 80% in order to allow the gas to expand on warm temperatures. 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 roughly the amount that can 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. For example, if the gauge reads 50% of capacity on a day when the temperature is close to 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank would contain roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is much 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 would actually read higher because the gas expanded.

Effect of Expansion and Contraction
The amount of energy contained or energy contained in 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 just the density of the gas has changed.

Cold-Weather Delivery
The homeowner who orders 100 gallons of propane would be given about 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 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 cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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