Does Cold Temperature Actually Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Propane is like most 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. 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 conditions, the level on the tank may not go up as much as anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank shows you what percentage of the tank is full. Normally, tanks are not filled over 80% so as to enable the gas to expand on hot days. For instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects approximately 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around how much could be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The web site Propane 101, which is managed by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the reference or baseline point. For example, 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 same 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 due to the expansion of the gas.

Effect of Expansion and Contraction
The energy contained or amount of energy contained in a tank would not change as the gas either contracts or expands, 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
The homeowner who orders 100 gallons of propane would be given around 424 pounds 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 correct if the temperatures were near 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery took place during colder weather, these chillier temperatures would result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.