Does Cold Temperature Really Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Similar to most other types of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. As the temperature goes down, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the level on the tank. Often, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold weather and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the conditions, the level on the tank may not go up as much as expected.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank 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 warm temperatures. Like for example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects about 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around the amount which 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 instance, 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 have around 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge will read lower. Also, if the temperature is a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge would actually read higher due to the expansion of the gas.

Effect of Expansion and Contraction
Based on the information given by the propane industry web site, 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 just the density of the gas has changed.

Cold-Weather Delivery
If a homeowner orders 100 gallons of propane to be delivered, they will 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 will be accurate if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather, these chillier temperatures will cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.