Does Cold Temperature Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Like most other types of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. When the temperature declines, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the tank level. Usually, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold weather and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the weather conditions, the level on the tank may not go up as much as anticipated.
Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank shows you what percentage of the tank is full. Normally, tanks are not filled more than 80% in order to allow the gas to expand during hot days. Like for example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects about 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around the amount which can 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 baseline or reference point. 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 will have around 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 would actually read higher due to the expansion of the gas.
Effect of Expansion and Contraction
The amount of energy contained or energy contained inside a tank will not change when 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
The homeowner who orders 100 gallons of propane would receive about 424 pounds of propane. With the delivery of 100 gallons, the homeowner with a 1000 gallon propane tank could expect the guage to go up by 10%. These numbers will 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 result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.