Equity Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Calculations of net income per share of common stock
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	$ 21,153	$ 17,157	$ 16,502	$ 22,403
Basic	$ 0.69	$ 0.56	$ 0.54	$ 0.73
Diluted	$ 0.68	$ 0.56	$ 0.53	$ 0.73
Basic	30,582	30,495	30,575	30,481
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Share-based Payment Arrangements	357	240	329	212
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding – diluted	30,939	30,735	30,904	30,693
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount	3,893	3,528	4,131	3,556
Stock Incentive Plans [Member]
Calculations of net income per share of common stock
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount	525	160	763	188
Warrant [Member]
Calculations of net income per share of common stock
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount	3,368	3,368	3,368	3,368