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Does Cold Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Like most other kinds of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. As the temperature declines, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the level on the tank. Usually, this happens whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold climate and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the weather conditions, the tank level may not rise as much as expected.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on the propane tank would show what portion of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are typically not filled over 80% full since this would allow for the gas to expand on warmer days. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects around 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is roughly how much can 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 reference or baseline point. Like for example, if the gauge reads 50% of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will contain roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. Similarly, if the temperature is a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge would actually read higher due to the expansion of the gas.

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
The amount of energy contained or energy contained within a tank would not change as the gas either expands or contracts, based on the propane industry web site. 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 receive 424 pounds 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 accurate if the temperatures were near 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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