My daughter had a cold tap fail that wouldn't turn off.
(Her husband away on business & I live locally but I was away on this day, (sexist I know but a real situation!)).
A genuinely helpful neighbour tried to turn off the mains entry stop tap inside the house. He couldn't turn off the water (washer was shot) so he went to the Water Co's thingy (where the meter was) outside where he turned off the water on the Water Co's side using a socket set.
In slower time I fixed the stop-tap and fitted a simple 90 degree valve and demonstrated where it was, so that if she has a problem in the future, stopping the flow is a 90 degree turn. (Previous owners of house had removed the bib from main stop tap so it's not her fault that she couldn't she where to turn off the main supply even if it would have worked!)
BUT: We couldn't turn the Water Co's plastic valve back on again. It appears that the bit you turn has a rachet-like device that makes turning it back on very difficult.
I gave up, not wanting to damage the valve/meter fitting and called our water supplier. Within an hour or so, a good man turned the water back on cheerfully waited while I checked that my work wasn't leaking. And No Charge!!
While I'm v pleased our supplier (Bristol Water) and the prompt cheery response to our problem, I would like some input into how these valves work.
It appears that the bit you turn has a rachet, albeit in plastic, that allows ease of "turning-off" and difficulty of " turning-on".
When the good bloke from B Water came, it only took him a few seconds to switch supply back on.
SO: Where can I get the tool to turn on/off the plastic valve on our stop taps; mine and my extended family that I do stuff for?
AND: Can anyone point me at a site that shows how these valves work and what tools are need to use them?
Thanks in anticipation,
N