Does Cold Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Propane is similar to most other types of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts when the temperature declines. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the level on the tank. Often, this comes into play whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold weather conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the weather, the level on the tank might not go up as much as expected.
Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tank's gauge shows you what fraction of the tank is full. Normally, tanks are not filled over 80% in order to allow the gas to expand on warm temperatures. Like for instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects about 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is around how much could be stored.
Normal Temperatures
The propane industry operates the popular web site Propane 101, which considers the propane reference point to be an exterior temperature of 60 degrees. Like for example, if the gauge reads 50% of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will contain roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that 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 will actually read higher due to the expansion of the gas.
Effect of Expansion and Contraction
The amount of energy contained or energy contained within a tank would not change as the gas either contracts or expands, according to the propane industry website. 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 may expect the gauge to go up by 10% with the delivery of 100 gallons. These numbers would be accurate 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.