Does Cold Temperature Actually Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Like the majority of other kinds of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. When the temperature goes down, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the tank level. 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 conditions, the tank level might not rise as much as expected.
Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank shows you what fraction of the tank is full. Usually, tanks are not filled over 80% in order to allow the gas to expand on warm days. For instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects about 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is around the amount which is able to be stored.
Normal Temperatures
The website Propane 101, that is operated 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% 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. 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
According to the information provided by the propane industry website, the amount of energy contained inside the tank does not actually change as the gas contracts or expands. 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 will be given 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 near 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery took place during colder weather, these chillier temperatures will cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.