Does Cold Temperature Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Like most other types of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. When 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 propane tank. Usually, this happens whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold weather conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the climate, the level on the tank may not go up as much as anticipated.
Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tank's gauge shows you what portion of the tank is full. Normally, tanks are not filled more than 80% so as to allow the gas to expand during warm temperatures. Like for example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects about 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is around how much could be stored.
Normal Temperatures
The web site Propane 101, that is managed 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% of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank would have about 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same 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
The amount of energy contained or energy contained in a tank will not change when the gas either contracts or expands, based on the propane industry website. 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 be given roughly 424 pounds 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 will result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.