Does Cold Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Propane is similar to nearly all other kinds of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts when the temperature does down. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the level on the propane tank. Often, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the weather, 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 percentage of the tank is full. Normally, tanks are not filled over 80% in order to allow the gas to expand during hot days. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects around 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is roughly how much could be stored.
Normal Temperatures
The web site Propane 101, that is operated by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the baseline or reference point. Like for example, if the gauge reads 50 percent of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank would contain roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same day is a lot 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 since the gas expanded.
Effect of Contraction and Expansion
Based on the information given by the propane industry website, the amount of energy contained in 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 receive 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 close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery took place during colder weather, these chillier temperatures will result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.