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Does Cold Truly Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Like nearly all other types of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. When 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. Often, this comes into play whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold weather conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the climate, the tank level may not rise as much as anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on the propane tank would show what percentage of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are usually not filled over 80% full since this would allow for the gas to expand during hotter days. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects around 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is about how much could be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The web site Propane 101, which is operated 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 near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank would contain 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 would actually read higher due to the expansion of the gas.

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
The amount of energy contained or energy contained in a tank would not change when the gas either expands or contracts, according to the propane industry web site. 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 will receive 424 pounds of propane. If the homeowner has a 1000 gallon propane tank, they may expect the gauge to go up by 10% with the delivery of 100 gallons. These numbers will be accurate if the temperatures were near 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather, these chillier temperatures would result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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