Does Cold Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Propane is like most other kinds of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts as the temperature does down. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the level on the propane tank. Normally, this happens whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold weather conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the weather, the tank level might not rise as much as expected.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tanks guage will show what portion of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are typically not filled more than 80% full as this will allow for the gas to expand on hotter temperatures. Like for instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects about 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is roughly how much is able to be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The propane industry operates the popular website Propane 101, that 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 a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge will read lower. In the same way, if the temperature is a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher since the gas expanded.

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 only 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 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 will 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 would cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.