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Does Cold Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Propane is similar to nearly all other types of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts as the temperature does down. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the tank level. Normally, this comes into play whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold climate and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the conditions, the tank level may not go up as much as expected.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tanks guage will show what fraction of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are usually not filled more than 80% full since this will allow for the gas to expand on hotter days. For instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects about 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around the amount which is able to be stored.

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

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
According to the information provided by the propane industry website, the amount of energy contained within the tank does not really change when the gas contracts or expands. 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 would receive approximately 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 would be correct if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather, these chillier temperatures would cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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