Does Cold Temperature Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Propane is like most other types of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts when the temperature does down. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the tank level. 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 upon the conditions, the level on the tank may not go up as much as anticipated.
Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank shows you what portion of the tank is full. Normally, tanks are not filled over 80% so as to enable the gas to expand on hot temperatures. Like for instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects about 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is around the amount that is able to be stored.
Normal Temperatures
The propane industry operates the popular website Propane 101, which considers the propane baseline point to be an exterior temperature of 60 degrees. For example, if the gauge reads 50% of capacity on a day when the temperature is close to 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will contain approximately 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. Also, 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
The energy contained or amount of energy contained in a tank will not change as the gas either contracts or expands, according to the propane industry web site. 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 would be given roughly 424 lbs. 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 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 cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.