Does Cold Actually Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Similar to most other kinds of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. When the temperature goes down, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the tank level. Usually, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold weather and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the climate, the level on the tank might 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 typically not filled over 80% full because this would allow for the gas to expand during hotter temperatures. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects approximately 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around how much could be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The website Propane 101, which is operated by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the baseline or reference 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 have around 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same 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 since the gas expanded.

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
The energy contained or amount of energy contained within 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 just 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 pounds 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 would be correct if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery took place during colder weather conditions, these chillier temperatures would result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.