Does Cold Actually Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Propane is similar to most 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 level on the propane tank. Often, this happens whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the climate, the level on the tank may not rise as much as anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tank's gauge shows you what percentage of the tank is full. Normally, tanks are not filled more than 80% so as to enable the gas to expand during warm days. Like for instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects approximately 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is around the amount that is able to be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The web site Propane 101, which is managed by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the baseline or reference point. 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 would contain approximately 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would 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 Contraction and Expansion
Based on the information provided by the propane industry website, 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 will be given 424 pounds of propane. If the homeowner has a 1000 gallon propane tank, they may expect the gauge to go up by 10% with the delivery of 100 gallons. These numbers will be correct if the temperatures were near 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.