Komatsu Propane Forklift Austin

Does Cold Affect a Propane Tank Level Gauge?

Propane is like the majority of other types of materials in that it is affected by cold temperatures. The propane gas contracts when the temperature declines. That reduced level of gas in the tank is reflected by the gauge that reflects the level on the tank. Normally, this comes into play whenever a homeowner checks the gauge in cold climate and sees the amount of the tank level before and after delivery. Depending on the weather, the level on the tank might 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. Typically, tanks are not filled more than 80% so as to enable the gas to expand on warm temperatures. For example, a 500 gallon tank, at a reading of 80% at normal temperatures reflects approximately 400 gallons of propane inside the tank. This is around how much could be stored.



Normal Temperatures

The propane industry operates the popular website Propane 101, which considers the propane reference point to be an exterior temperature of 60 degrees. For example, if the gauge reads 50 percent of capacity on a day when the temperature is near 60 degrees, then a 500 gallon tank would have approximately 250 gallons of propane. If the temperature that same day is much lower than 60 degrees, the gauge will read lower. Similarly, if the temperature is a lot higher than 60 degrees, the gauge will actually read higher because the gas expanded.



Effect of Contraction and Expansion

Based on the information provided by the propane industry web site, the amount of energy contained inside the tank does not actually change when 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

If a homeowner orders 100 gallons of propane to be delivered, they would receive 424 lbs. of propane. If the homeowner has a 1000 gallon propane tank, they can expect the gauge to go up by 10% with the delivery of 100 gallons. These numbers will be correct if the temperatures were close to 60 degrees at the time of delivery. If the delivery took place during colder weather, these chillier temperatures will cause a smaller increase reading on the propane gauge.

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