Does Cold Temperature Truly Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Propane is similar to nearly all other kinds 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 which reflects the level on the propane tank. Often, this comes into play whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold climate and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the weather, the tank level might not go up as much as expected.

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 warm days. Like for example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects about 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is about the amount that can be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The propane industry manages the popular website Propane 101, which considers the propane baseline point to be an exterior temperature of 60 degrees. Like for example, if the gauge reads 50% of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank would have about 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. Similarly, if the temperature is a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge would actually read higher since the gas expanded.

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
The amount of energy contained or energy contained in a tank will 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 would receive 424 lbs. of propane. If the homeowner has a 1000 gallon propane tank, they may 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 took place during colder weather, these chillier temperatures will cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.