i'm not saying it is a joke - at all, i apologize if i made it seem that i thought so. I agree completely. I appreciate caution and I agree, doing things right is absolutely required. Again, not an expert, seek your own advice, i'm just trying to work this out.
As you said - several have blown up. I'm not sure how how a sprinkler, in itself, is going to prevent a still from exploding.
from what i've read, again might be wrong, most explosions occur because of over pressure of vessels or vapor cloud ignition.
Vapor cloud explosions require vapor - this is might be a concern around the still. Do you turn sprinklers on when you detect vapor?? or do you use fans to change air?
Overpressure, from what i can tell, of a still has nothing to do with a sprinkler system. This is about making sure the still relieves pressure to a safe location before it gets too high and limiting the amount of heat at the boiler.
vapor explosions from what i've read require limiting releases of vapor\spills and controlling ignition sources (area class). Sprinkers could be used for vapor suppression = but i'm not sure that anyone uses them this way with their gas detectors - otherwise sprinkers seem better for fires not explosions or vapor cloud explosions. Air change outs around the still, limiting the amount of release around the still, keeping ignition sources and static hazards down\eliminated, properly designed relief on a still, and being very careful around NGS....
I guess the point was - it seems like lower proof liquids are closer to combustibles than flammables and seem like they would not provide the vapor required for an explosion or sustained fire.
thanks again for bringing up safety.