Does Cold Temperature Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?
Like most other types of materials, propane is affected by cold temperatures. When the temperature goes down, the propane gas contracts. That reduced level of gas inside the tank is reflected by the gauge which reflects the level on the propane tank. Often, this occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold conditions and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending upon the conditions, the tank level may not go up as much as expected.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tank's gauge shows you what portion of the tank is full. Usually, tanks are not filled more than 80% so as to enable the gas to expand during hot temperatures. For instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80 percent at normal temperatures reflects around 400 gallons of propane in the tank. This is around how much is able to be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The propane industry manages the popular web site Propane 101, that considers the propane reference 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 near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will have approximately 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge will read lower. In the same way, if the temperature is much higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher due to the expansion of the gas.

Effect of Expansion and Contraction
According to the information provided by the propane industry web site, the amount of energy contained within the tank does not actually change when the gas expands or contracts. The amount of propane itself has not changed, but just the density of the gas has changed.

Cold-Weather Delivery
The homeowner who orders 100 gallons of propane would receive about 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 would be accurate if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery took place during colder weather, these chillier temperatures would cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.