Does Cold Temperature Truly Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Like most other kinds 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 that reflects the tank level. Often, this comes into play whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the weather conditions, the level on the tank might not rise as much as expected.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank shows you what portion of the tank is full. Usually, tanks are not filled more than 80% so as to enable the gas to expand on hot days. Like for instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects around 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is roughly the amount which could be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The website Propane 101, that is operated by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the reference or baseline point. 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 a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher since the gas expanded.

Effect of Expansion and Contraction
The amount of energy contained or energy contained inside a tank would not change when the gas either contracts or expands, 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
The homeowner who orders 100 gallons of propane will receive approximately 424 lbs. of propane. With the delivery of 100 gallons, the homeowner with a 1000 gallon propane tank can 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 conditions, these chillier temperatures would result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.