Quarterly Data (unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015		Dec. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013
Asset impairments									$ 253,560		$ 0		$ 0
Sales	$ 260,756	$ 264,047	$ 270,252	$ 245,105	$ 326,061	$ 293,841	$ 306,810	$ 266,240	1,040,160		1,192,952		1,177,438
Gross profit	72,772	68,289	74,880	72,523	96,894	91,233	92,181	77,546	288,464		357,854		351,723
Operating Income (Loss)	(238,918)	15,609	25,129	14,957	41,612	40,355	34,044	22,146	(183,223)	[1],[2]	138,157	[3],[4]	135,997
Net income	(231,144)	4,271	17,082	5,275	27,210	23,152	20,371	12,339	(204,516)		83,072		87,362
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	$ (230,123)	$ 4,760	$ 17,157	$ 5,246	$ 26,947	$ 22,851	$ 20,069	$ 11,997	$ (202,960)		$ 81,864		$ 83,176
Basic	$ (7.54)	$ 0.16	$ 0.56	$ 0.17	$ 0.89	$ 0.75	$ 0.66	$ 0.40	$ (6.66)	[5]	$ 2.69	[6]	$ 2.75
Diluted	$ (7.54)	$ 0.15	$ 0.56	$ 0.17	$ 0.88	$ 0.74	$ 0.65	$ 0.38	$ (6.66)	[5],[7]	$ 2.67	[6]	$ 2.60
Escrow Settlement									$ (5,003)

[1] Includes asset impairment charges of $255,116 for the year ended December 31, 2015, attributed to E&C - $68,796, D&S - $2,020 , and BioMedical - $184,300.

[2] Includes impairment of goodwill and intangible assets totaling $253,560 as described in Note 3, Asset Impairments, to the consolidated financial statements.

[3] Includes recovery of $5,003 increasing operating income during the fourth quarter of 2014 from an escrow settlement for 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. We continue to pursue recovery for breaches of representations and warranties related to warranty costs for certain product lines acquired from AirSep in 2012 under our representation and warranty insurance coverage that exists from the acquisition.

[4] The BioMedical segment’s operating income included recovery of $5,003 increasing operating income for the year ended December 31, 2014 from an escrow settlement for 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.

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

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

[7] Zero incremental shares from share-based awards are included in the computation of diluted net loss per share for periods in which a net loss occurs, because to do so would be anti-dilutive.