Does Cold Temperature Actually Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Like nearly all other types of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. When 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 tank. Often, this happens 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 might not go up as much as anticipated.
Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank shows you what portion of the tank is full. Usually, tanks are not filled more than 80% so as to allow the gas to expand on hot days. Like for instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects around 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is around how much could be stored.
Normal Temperatures
The website 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 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 roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. Also, 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
According to the information given by the propane industry web site, the amount of energy contained within the tank does not really change when 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
The homeowner who orders 100 gallons of propane will receive around 424 lbs. 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 would be accurate if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather conditions, these chillier temperatures would result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.