The Filter has a special type of agitator with scrapper, mounted with lantern supports on the top of dished end. The agitator is capable of performing the following operations:-

1) Solids in suspension are not allowed to quickly settle down on the filtering medium and there by causing a blinding effect for filtrate. After considerable quantity of filtrate passes through, stirrer is raised and filtration by capillary action continues.

2) During final stages of cake formation, cake starts cracking and vacuum below the cake gets short circuited through the cake thereby stopping the final stages of liquid extraction from the cake. When the cake starts cracking, stirrer is rotated in anti – clockwise direction also known as smoothening direction and the cracks are closed by simultaneously bringing down the stirrer, so that it plasters the surface of the cake and closes the cracks. It can even slightly press the cake and squeeze out some of the liquid.

3) After cake formation is complete, very good washing can be achieved by adding wash liquid and re – slurring the cake, resulting in contact of every particle of the cake with wash liquor and then repeating the filtering operation till cake is formed again. Washing and reslurring can be done as many times as necessary to achieve good cake, or good filtrate without much residue left in the cake.

4) During the Drying cycle, the wet cake is manipulated with the agitator to transfer heat and the vacuum flashes the solvent out of the wet cake. A dust catcher can provided to arrest any dry powder that is entrained in the vacuum stream.

5) Finally by rotating the stirrer in the ‘Discharge Direction’ and bringing it down , cake can be mechanically discharged by opening the discharge door.