Does Cold Temperature Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Like nearly all other types 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 propane tank. Normally, this comes into play whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold climate and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the climate, the tank level may not go up as much as anticipated.
Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tank's gauge shows you what percentage of the tank is full. Usually, tanks are not filled more than 80% in order to enable the gas to expand during hot temperatures. Like 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 how much could be stored.
Normal Temperatures
The web site Propane 101, which 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 percent of capacity on a day when the temperature is close to 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank would contain roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. Similarly, if the temperature is a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher due to the expansion of the gas.
Effect of Expansion and Contraction
According to the information given by the propane industry web site, the amount of energy contained within the tank does not actually change when the gas expands or contracts. 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 could 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 happened during colder weather conditions, these chillier temperatures would result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.