a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody the captain ordered that the prisoner be thrown into the brig immediately Synonyms bastille, big house [slang], bridewell, jail, calaboose, can, clink [slang], cooler, coop, guardroom, hock, hold, hoosegow, jailhouse, joint [slang], jug, lockup, nick [British slang], pen, penitentiary, pokey ...
Clue #1: Age. The older the water heater, the more likely it is to break down. As a general rule, a tank type water heater will last, on average 8 to 12 years. With proper maintenance and a little luck, you may be able to nearly double the lifespan of your water heater. But sometimes even with the best care, a water heater will need to be replaced after only a few years.
How long does an average anode last in a water heater? I recently replaced a 20-year old water heater in my home because I felt it was probably best to do it before it actually failed. After getting the thing outside and new one installed, I noticed aside from a heat-element change, nothing else had ever been done to it.