Does Cold Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Like nearly all other types of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. As the temperature declines, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the tank level. Usually, this comes into play whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold weather and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the climate, the level on the tank may not rise as much as expected.
Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on the propane tank will show what fraction of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are usually not filled more than 80% full since this would allow for the gas to expand on hotter temperatures. For instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects around 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around how much could 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. Like for instance, if the gauge reads 50 percent of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank would contain roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. Similarly, if the temperature is a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge would actually read higher due to the expansion of the gas.
Effect of Contraction and Expansion
According to the information given by the propane industry website, 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 just the density of the gas has changed.
Cold-Weather Delivery
If a homeowner orders 100 gallons of propane to be delivered, they would 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 will be correct 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.