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Does Cold Actually Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Propane is like most other kinds of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts when the temperature declines. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the level on the tank. Often, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold weather conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the weather, the tank level might not rise as much as anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tanks guage will show what portion of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are typically not filled over 80% full since this will allow for the gas to expand during hotter temperatures. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects approximately 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is about how much is able to be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The web site Propane 101, that is managed by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the reference or baseline point. For example, if the gauge reads 50% of capacity on a day when the temperature is close to 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will have roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge will read lower. Similarly, 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 when the gas expands or contracts. 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 will receive 424 lbs. 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 will be accurate if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather, these chillier temperatures would result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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