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

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tanks guage would show what percentage of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are usually not filled more than 80% full because this would allow for the gas to expand on hotter temperatures. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects approximately 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is around how much can be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The website Propane 101, that is operated by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the reference or baseline point. Like 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 would contain approximately 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge will 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 web site, the amount of energy contained inside the tank does not really change as 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 would be given 424 lbs. 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 near 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather conditions, these chillier temperatures would cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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