The Sierra Propane team ensures safe and efficient propane deliveries.

The New Mexico and Arizona households we serve can always count on Sierra Propane for dependable propane delivery they don’t have to worry about. With our free Auto Fill program, you don’t even need to contact us for your fuel. Our state-of-the-art system tracks your propane consumption, and we preemptively schedule a delivery right when you need it.

From Snowflake, AZ, to Magdalena, NM — and plenty of other towns in our service area — our customers trust us to fill their propane tanks before they run low. Sometimes, they have questions about the fill percentage on the tank gauge. We want to clarify why your gauge sometimes seems lower than expected after a propane delivery.

Reading your propane tank gauge

On top of your home’s propane tank, there’s a small dome. This is a lid that covers your tank gauge. When you lift it, you’ll see a gauge resembling a speedometer with numbers from 5 to 95. You can read this gauge to confirm the percentage fill of your tank.

A tank gauge measures the volume of your propane (how much space it takes up) using a float on the end of a stem.

The relationship between propane and temperature

Forgive us if there’s a little bit of high school chemistry talk here. Propane is delivered and stored as a liquid, and the volume of the propane is largely dependent on outside temperatures. Like water, propane expands as the temperature rises. But propane’s volume increases nearly 17 times the volume of water over the same temperature increase.

When temperatures drop, some people may reasonably wonder if they received the right amount of propane. Consider this scenario:

• If we fill a 250-gallon propane tank with 100 gallons of fuel in moderate temperatures (about 60°F), the gauge will read about 40%.
• However, if the outdoor temperature drops by over 20° that night, the percentage might be noticeably lower because the tank gauge measures volume.
• In this circumstance, a homeowner might think they’ve been billed for more fuel than they received, but there are still 100 gallons of propane in the tank; they just take up less room.

If you have any questions about your tank’s fill percentage when we deliver your propane, feel free to speak with our driver. We’ll confirm precisely how many gallons were added to your tank.

The 80-20 fill rule

The volume expansion that propane experiences in hot weather also presents a safety concern. You might notice we never fill your propane tank higher than 80%. This is a standard safety practice for propane companies. Leaving 20% of your tank empty allows your fuel to safely expand when outdoor temperatures rise.

Sierra Propane provides total peace of mind.

Our experienced team is always at your service, providing ways to ensure total confidence in your home’s propane supply, including Auto Fill, convenient tank leasing and even wireless tank monitoring services.

To take advantage of Sierra Propane’s fantastic slate of propane delivery services, reach out to us today.