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