Does Cold Truly Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Propane is like nearly all other types of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts as the temperature does down. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the level on the propane tank. Often, this comes into play whenever a homeowner checks the gauge during cold climate and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the climate, the level on the tank might not rise as much as expected.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The propane tank's gauge shows you what fraction of the tank is full. Typically, tanks are not filled over 80% in order to enable the gas to expand on hot temperatures. For instance, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects about 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around the amount that can be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The website Propane 101, that is managed by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the reference or baseline point. Like for instance, if the gauge reads 50% 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 much 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 because the gas expanded.

Effect of Contraction and Expansion
According to the information given by the propane industry web site, the amount of energy contained within the tank does not actually change as the gas contracts or expands. 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 will be given around 424 lbs. of propane. With the delivery of 100 gallons, the homeowner with a 1000 gallon propane tank could expect the guage to go up by 10%. These numbers will be accurate if the temperatures were near 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather, these chillier temperatures will cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.