Does Cold Temperature Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Propane is like nearly all other kinds of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts when the temperature does down. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the tank level. Normally, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the weather conditions, the tank level may 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 normally not filled more than 80% full as this would allow for the gas to expand on warmer days. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects roughly 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is about how much is able to be stored.
Normal Temperatures
The web site Propane 101, which is operated by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the reference or baseline point. Like 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 would contain roughly 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 since the gas expanded.
Effect of Contraction and Expansion
The energy contained or amount of energy contained within a tank would not change as 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
If a homeowner orders 100 gallons of propane to be delivered, they will be given 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 would be correct if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather conditions, these chillier temperatures will cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.