Does Cold Temperature Truly Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Similar to the majority of other kinds of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. As the temperature declines, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas in 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 during cold conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on 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 percentage of the tank is full. Usually, tanks are not filled more than 80% so as to enable the gas to expand during hot days. 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 about how much is able to be stored.
Normal Temperatures
The propane industry manages the popular web site Propane 101, which considers the propane baseline 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 near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will contain roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. In the same way, 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 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 web site. The amount of propane itself has not changed, but only 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 lbs. of propane. If the homeowner has a 1000 gallon propane tank, they could 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 happened during colder weather conditions, these chillier temperatures will result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.