Engineering and Technology Journal e-ISSN: 2456-3358 Volume 08 Issue 06 June-2023, Page No.-2306-2310 DOI: 10.47191/etj/v8i6.01, I.F. – 7.136 © 2023, ETJ 2306 Muchlis Alahudin, ETJ Volume 08 Issue 06 June 2023 Analysis of Thermal Conditions in a Simple Grain Dryer Building Muchlis Alahudin 1 , Anton Topan 2 , Yosi Valentina Simorangkir 3 1,2,3 Universitas Musamus, Kamizaun Street-Mopah Lama, Merauke, Indonesia ABSTRACT: Drying buildings are really needed by farmers during the harvest season, the drying buildings that Merauke farmers often use are natural drying buildings whose heat source comes from the sun. The use of dryer buildings is considered more efficient when drying, this is because the farmers in Merauke have quite a hard time when the harvest arrives, when the harvest arrives the rainfall is still high. The purpose of this study was to determine the thermal conditions in a simple dryer building. This research type is experimental research. Temperature measurements were carried out for 1 week from 1 October 2022 – 6 October 2022. The results showed that inside the grain drying buildings the average temperature reached 34.2°C and the average humidity reached 73.9%. Meanwhile outside the building the average temperature reaches 31.8°C and the average humidity reaches 81%. During the measurement period, the highest temperature inside the building reached 43.4°C, causing the grain which was dried in the sun to dry quickly. KEYWORDS: thermal, grain, dryer building I. INTRODUCTION As one of the centers of agricultural production with a comparative advantage in the form of fertile lands in various regions, it also has a competitive advantage, namely around 2,491,821.99 hectares (Ha) of fertile and wetlands which are alluvial soils resulting from river deposits ready to be utilized in Merauke Regency. This potential does not include the 1,474,061 Ha of dry land which can be turned into rice fields at any time considering the abundant water resources from several major rivers, such as: Maro, Bian, Kumbe and others [1]. Merauke is one of the areas that still uses conventional methods in agriculture, at certain times agricultural products are quite difficult to obtain, because during the rainy season, the rain intensity is very high, water conditions are abundant and it is difficult to channel it due to flat ground conditions, otherwise in the dry season the water is quite hard to come by. So that agricultural business does not run optimally throughout the year. In the rainy season some agricultural products are difficult to obtain, including vegetables, this is because the soil content is quite wet so that several types of plants such as vegetables do not grow optimally [2], besides that during the rice harvest the rain intensity is still high enough so that farmers difficult in the grain drying process. Merauke's agriculture still depends on rain-fed agriculture, therefore many farmers have started planting before the rainy season actually takes place. So when the rainfall is still high, the rice planted is ready for harvest, the effect is that the grain yields are difficult to dry. Because the grain does not dry quickly, the quality of the grain becomes low and ultimately affects the quality of the rice. Currently, when the harvest is over and the rainy season is still going on, farmers usually air it in an empty room in the farmer's house. However, if the harvest is quite large, the pile of grain is very thick so that the existing grain does not dry quickly, even though the farmer is always turning the grain back and forth. Usually when there is a little light/heat the farmers try to dry the rice, but because the rain intensity is still quite high, the light/heat only lasts a few minutes. Because the heat doesn't last long, the farmers just open the tarpaulin without leveling it (if this lasts a few days, of course the paddy that is still wet during harvest will become moldy and rotten). Basic Principles of Drying Drying is a process of transferring heat and water vapor simultaneously, which requires heat energy to evaporate the water content transferred from the surface of the material being dried by the drying medium which is usually hot. The drying process is the process of taking or reducing the water content to a certain extent so as to slow down the rate of grain deterioration due to biological and chemical activities before the material is processed/used. The purpose of drying is to reduce the moisture content of the material to a point where the development of microorganisms and the activities of enzymes that can cause spoilage are inhibited or stopped. Thus, the dried material can have a long shelf life. There are two ways of drying [3]. a. Natural Drying The advantages or disadvantages of natural drying are low energy costs, requires a lot of labor to spread, turn over and re-assemble, are very dependent on weather, require large