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Does Cold Temperature Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Like nearly all other types of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. As the temperature goes down, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the level on the tank. Normally, this happens whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold weather conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the conditions, the tank level might not rise as much as expected.
The gauge on the propane tank would show what fraction of the gas tank is still full. Tanks are usually not filled more than eighty percent full because this will allow for the gas to expand during hotter temperatures. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects around 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around how much could be stored.
The website Propane 101, which is operated by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of sixty degrees to be the reference or baseline point. For example, if the gauge reads 50% of capacity on a day when the temperature is close to sixty degrees, then a five hundred gallon tank would contain around 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge would read lower. Similarly, if the temperature is a lot higher than sixty degrees, the gauge will actually read higher due to the expansion of the gas.
The energy contained or amount of energy contained inside a tank would not change when the gas either expands or contracts, based on the propane industry website. The amount of propane itself has not changed, but just the density of the gas has changed.
If a homeowner orders one hundred gallons of propane to be delivered, they would receive four hundred twenty four pounds of propane. If the homeowner has a one thousand gallon propane tank, they may expect the gauge to go up by 10% with the delivery of one hundred gallons. These numbers would 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 would result in a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.
