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Does Cold Temperature Actually Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Similar to the majority of other kinds of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. As 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 tank. Normally, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold weather and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the climate, the level on the tank might not go up as much as anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tank's gauge shows you what fraction of the tank is full. Typically, tanks are not filled more than 80% in order to enable the gas to expand during warm temperatures. Like for example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects approximately 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is about how much is able to be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The propane industry operates the popular web site Propane 101, that considers the propane baseline point to be an exterior temperature of 60 degrees. Like for instance, if the gauge reads 50% of capacity on a day when the temperature is close to 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will have around 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that 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 due to the expansion of the gas.

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 actually change as the gas contracts or expands. The amount of propane itself has not changed, but just 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 correct if the temperatures were near 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery took place during colder weather, these chillier temperatures will cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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