If you have been getting propane deliveries from Parker Gas for a while, you have probably noticed that your propane tank only gets filled to about 80 percent of its actual capacity when our technicians visit.
The question is, why do they do that?
Like every decision our experts make, it comes back to making your safety our priority.
You see, propane expands in the presence of heat, just like water does (propane is liquid when it’s stored under pressure at low temperatures inside your tank, but expands into a gas as temperatures rise). The only difference is that propane expands much more quickly than water when heated: in fact, propane increases to nearly 17 times the volume of water over the same temperature increase! If we filled your propane tank to 100 percent capacity during the hot summer months, it could become a dangerous piece of equipment.
That’s why our drivers only fill your propane tank to about 80 percent of its actual capacity. The extra space in the tank is a cushion against the pressure that builds up in a tank when it’s hot.
Our highly trained drivers use a pre-set gauge to make sure we don’t overfill your propane tank – one of the many measures we take to keep you safe at home.
To calculate the approximate fill capacity of your propane tank, multiply the tank’s total capacity by 0.8. Here’s a cheat sheet:
| Tank size (gallons) | 80 percent (gallons) |
| 120 | 96 |
| 150 | 120 |
| 200 | 160 |
| 250 | 200 |
| 500 | 400 |
As you can see, when you become a Parker Gas customer, your safety comes first – now and always!
For safe, reliable propane delivery at the best prices around, trust the pros at Parker Gas. Contact us to order your propane today.