Quarterly Data (unaudited) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended												12 Months Ended				2 Months Ended	4 Months Ended	8 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014		Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013		Jun. 30, 2013		Mar. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Aug. 29, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Aug. 29, 2013
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Sales	$ 326,061,000		$ 293,841,000	$ 306,810,000	$ 266,240,000	$ 303,767,000	$ 301,757,000	[1]	$ 298,266,000	[1]	$ 273,648,000	[1]	$ 1,192,952,000		$ 1,177,438,000	$ 1,014,152,000
Gross profit	96,894,000		91,233,000	92,181,000	77,546,000	93,822,000	88,645,000		89,806,000		79,450,000		357,854,000		351,723,000	305,163,000
Operating Income (Loss)	41,612,000	[2]	40,355,000	34,044,000	22,146,000	39,781,000	35,886,000		32,979,000		27,351,000		138,157,000		135,997,000	121,813,000
Net income	27,210,000		23,152,000	20,371,000	12,339,000	25,804,000	24,847,000		20,603,000		16,108,000		83,072,000		87,362,000	72,324,000
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	26,947,000		22,851,000	20,069,000	11,997,000	23,196,000	24,445,000		20,000,000		15,535,000		81,864,000		83,176,000	71,295,000
Basic	$ 0.89		$ 0.75	$ 0.66	$ 0.40	$ 0.76	$ 0.81		$ 0.66		$ 0.52		$ 2.69	[3]	$ 2.75	$ 2.39
Diluted	$ 0.88		$ 0.74	$ 0.65	$ 0.38	$ 0.71	$ 0.74		$ 0.64		$ 0.51		$ 2.67	[3]	$ 2.60	$ 2.36
Escrow Settlement													(5,003,000)
AirSep [Member]
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Sales									29,855,000		27,014,000						14,174,000	40,317,000	71,043,000
Operating Income (Loss)																		$ 4,026,000	$ 3,195,000

[1] During the first and second quarters of 2013, AirSep added sales of $27,014 and $29,855, respectively. During the third quarter of 2013, incremental sales related to AirSep were $14,174.

[2] Includes recovery of $5,003 increasing operating income during the fourth quarter of 2014 from an escrow settlement for alleged breaches of representations and warranties relating to warranty costs (which are in excess of the settlement amount) for certain product lines acquired from AirSep in 2012.

[3] Basic and diluted earnings per share are computed independently for each of the quarters presented. As such, the sum of quarterly basic and diluted earnings per share may not equal reported annual basic and diluted earnings per share.