Does Cold Temperature Actually Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Propane is like nearly all other types of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts when the temperature does down. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the tank level. Often, this comes into play whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the weather conditions, the tank level may not rise as much as anticipated.
Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank shows you what portion of the tank is full. Typically, tanks are not filled more than 80% in order to enable the gas to expand on warm temperatures. Like for example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects around 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is about how much is able to be stored.
Normal Temperatures
The propane industry manages the popular website Propane 101, which considers the propane baseline 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 close to 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will contain roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge will read lower. Also, if the temperature is much higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher because the gas expanded.
Effect of Expansion and Contraction
The energy contained or amount of energy contained inside a tank will not change when the gas either contracts or expands, according to 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 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 would 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.