Does Cold Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Like the majority of other kinds of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. As the temperature declines, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the tank level. Often, this happens whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold climate and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the weather, the tank level may not rise as much as anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank shows you what percentage of the tank is full. Typically, tanks are not filled over 80% in order to allow the gas to expand during hot temperatures. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects around 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is about the amount which is able to be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The propane industry manages the popular web site Propane 101, which considers the propane reference point to be an exterior temperature of 60 degrees. For example, if the gauge reads 50 percent of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will have about 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. In the same way, if the temperature is much higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher because the gas expanded.

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
According to the information given by the propane industry web site, the amount of energy contained inside the tank does not really change when the gas expands or contracts. 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 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 would be accurate if the temperatures were near 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery took place during colder weather conditions, these chillier temperatures would cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.