Does Cold Temperature Really Affect the Level Gauge on a Propane Tank?
Like most other kinds 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 occurs whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold 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 anticipated.

Propane Tank Level Gauge
The gauge on a propane tank shows you what percentage of the tank is full. Normally, tanks are not filled over 80% so as to enable the gas to expand on hot days. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects roughly 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is roughly how much could be stored.

Normal Temperatures
The web site Propane 101, that is managed by the propane industry, considers an exterior temperature of 60 degrees to be the reference or baseline point. For example, if the gauge reads 50 percent of capacity on a day when the temperature is close to 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank will contain roughly 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that day is a lot lower than 60 degrees, the gauge will read lower. Also, if the temperature is a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge would actually read higher since the gas expanded.

Effect of Expansion and Contraction
Based on the information provided by the propane industry web site, the amount of energy contained within the tank does not really change when the gas expands or contracts. 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 would 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 would be correct if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery happened during colder weather conditions, these chillier temperatures would cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.