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Does Cold Temperature Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Propane is like most other kinds of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts as the temperature declines. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the level on the tank. Normally, this happens whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold climate and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the weather, the tank level might not go up as much as expected.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tanks guage would show what percentage of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are normally not filled over 80% full because this would allow for the gas to expand during warmer days. Like for instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects approximately 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is around how much could be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The website Propane 101, that is managed by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the reference or baseline point. For instance, if the gauge reads 50 percent of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will contain approximately 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge will read lower. Also, if the temperature is much higher than 60 degrees, the gauge would actually read higher due to the expansion of the gas.

Effect of Expansion and Contraction
Based on the information given by the propane industry website, the amount of energy contained within the tank does not really change as 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
If a homeowner orders 100 gallons of propane to be delivered, they would receive 424 pounds of propane. If the homeowner has a 1000 gallon propane tank, they could 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, these chillier temperatures would result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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