Does Cold Temperature Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Propane is similar to nearly all other kinds of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts as the temperature declines. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the tank level. Normally, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold weather conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the weather, the level on the tank may not rise as much as expected.

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% so as to allow the gas to expand during warm 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 about the amount that could be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The propane industry manages the popular web site Propane 101, which considers the propane reference point to be an exterior temperature of 60 degrees. Like for example, if the gauge reads 50 percent of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 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 Contraction and Expansion
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 expands or contracts. 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 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, these chillier temperatures will result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.