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Does Cold Truly Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Similar to nearly all other types 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 tank level. Often, this comes into play whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold weather and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the weather conditions, the level on the tank may not rise as much as anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on the propane tank would show what percentage of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are normally not filled more than 80% full because this will allow for the gas to expand during warmer temperatures. For instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects roughly 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around how much is able to be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The propane industry operates the popular website Propane 101, which considers the propane baseline point to be an exterior temperature of 60 degrees. For example, if the gauge reads 50% of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank would have about 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge will read lower. In the same way, if the temperature is much higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher because the gas expanded.

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
The amount of energy contained or energy contained within a tank will not change when the gas either contracts or expands, according to the propane industry website. 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 could expect the gauge to go up by 10% with the delivery of 100 gallons. These numbers would be correct if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather, these chillier temperatures will result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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