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Does Cold Truly Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Similar to the majority of other kinds of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. As the temperature declines, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the level on the tank. Normally, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the climate, the tank level might not go up as much as anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank shows you what fraction of the tank is full. Typically, tanks are not filled over 80% so as to allow the gas to expand during hot days. Like for example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects roughly 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is about the amount that could be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The website Propane 101, which is managed by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the baseline or reference point. 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 have approximately 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is a lot 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 since the gas expanded.

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
The energy contained or amount of energy contained inside a tank will not change as the gas either expands or contracts, based on 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 pounds 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 accurate if the temperatures were near 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather conditions, these chillier temperatures would cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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