Does Cold Temperature Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Similar to nearly all other types of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. When the temperature declines, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the tank level. 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 conditions, the tank level might not go up as much as expected.
Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tanks guage would show what portion of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are normally not filled more than 80% full because this would allow for the gas to expand during hotter temperatures. Like for instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects roughly 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around how much can be stored.
Normal Temperatures
The propane industry operates the popular website Propane 101, which considers the propane reference point to be an exterior temperature of 60 degrees. For instance, if the gauge reads 50 percent of capacity on a day when the temperature is close to 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will contain around 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would 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
Based on the information provided by the propane industry web site, the amount of energy contained inside the tank does not really change when the gas contracts or expands. 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 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 would be correct if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery took place during colder weather conditions, these chillier temperatures will cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.