Does Cold Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Like most other kinds of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. When the temperature declines, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the level on the tank. Usually, 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 on the conditions, the level on the tank may not go up as much as expected.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tanks guage will show what percentage of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are normally not filled more than 80% full because this would allow for the gas to expand during hotter days. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects around 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around how much can 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. 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 contain roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would 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 would not change when the gas either expands or contracts, according to the propane industry website. The amount of propane itself has not changed, but only the density of the gas has changed.

Cold-Weather Delivery
The homeowner who orders 100 gallons of propane will receive about 424 pounds of propane. With the delivery of 100 gallons, the homeowner with a 1000 gallon propane tank can expect the guage to go up by 10%. 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 would cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.