Quarterly Data (unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended											12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017		Sep. 30, 2017		Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016		Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2017		Dec. 31, 2016		Dec. 31, 2015
Sales	$ 306.0	[1]	$ 240.5	[1]	$ 238.2	$ 204.1	$ 214.4	$ 203.9		$ 247.1	$ 193.8	$ 988.8	[1]	$ 859.2		$ 1,040.2
Gross Profit	82.9		70.4		63.2	55.6	57.1	69.6		87.0	52.7	272.1		266.4		288.5
Operating Income (Loss)	21.3	[1],[2]	10.5	[1]	9.9	0.3	2.3	20.1	[3]	34.9	0.1	42.0	[1],[2],[4],[5]	57.4	[5],[6]	(183.2)	[5],[7]
Net income	27.0	[8],[9]	2.1		3.3	(2.9)	(3.9)	13.7		19.6	(4.7)	29.5		24.7		(204.5)
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	$ 26.7	[8],[9]	$ 1.5		$ 2.8	$ (2.9)	$ (3.3)	$ 15.0		$ 21.2	$ (4.7)	$ 28.0		$ 28.2		$ (203.0)
Basic	$ 0.87		$ 0.05		$ 0.09	$ (0.09)	$ (0.11)	$ 0.49		$ 0.69	$ (0.15)	$ 0.91	[10]	$ 0.92	[11]	$ (6.66)
Diluted	$ 0.85		$ 0.05		$ 0.09	$ (0.09)	$ (0.11)	$ 0.48		$ 0.68	$ (0.15)	$ 0.89	[10],[12]	$ 0.91	[11],[13]	$ (6.66)
Loss on extinguishment of debt	$ 4.9											$ 4.9		$ 0.0		$ 0.0
Debt Instrument, Repurchase Amount	192.9											192.9
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	$ 250.0											$ 250.0
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	2.00%											2.00%
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)												$ (15.9)		13.7		2.7
Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Income) Loss, Defined Benefit Plan, after Tax												4.5
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)												$ (26.9)		0.0		0.0
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, at Federal Statutory Income Tax Rate, Percent												21.00%
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Repatriation of Foreign Earnings, Amount												$ 8.7
Asset impairments												0.0		1.2		253.6
Hudson [Member]
Sales	$ 51.9		$ 6.1									58.0
Operating Income (Loss)	$ 5.2		$ 1.2									6.4
Cost of Sales [Member]
Asset impairments																1.5
BioMedical [Member]
Operating Income (Loss)												35.5		42.0		$ (165.3)
BioMedical [Member] | Cost of Sales [Member]
Product Warranty Expense														15.2
BioMedical [Member] | Selling, General and Administrative Expenses [Member]
Gain (Loss) Related to Litigation Settlement														$ 0.3
Hudson [Member]
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)												$ 8.7

[1] Hudson, included in these results since the acquisition date, September 20, 2017, added net sales and operating income of $58.0 and $6.4 for the year ended December 31, 2017, including $6.1 and $1.2 in the third quarter and $51.9 and $5.2 in the fourth quarter, respectively.

[2] The fourth quarter of 2017 includes additional expense as a result of a litigation award in China. Refer to Note 18, Commitments and Contingencies, for further information.

[3] During the third quarter of 2016, we recovered for breaches of representations and warranties primarily related to warranty costs for certain product lines acquired in the 2012 acquisition of AirSep under the related representation and warranty insurance. For the year ended December 31, 2016, this reduced BioMedical segment’s cost of sales by $15.2 and Corporate SG&A expenses by $0.3, net of associated legal fees recorded in 2016. The 2016 operating income also includes impairment of goodwill and intangible assets totaling $1.2 as described in Note 3, Asset Impairments, to the consolidated financial statements.

[4] Includes acquisition-related expenses of $10.1 for the year ended December 31, 2017.

[5] Includes restructuring costs of $15.6, $10.9 and $12.2 for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively

[6] During the third quarter of 2016, we recovered for breaches of representations and warranties primarily related to warranty costs for certain product lines acquired in the 2012 acquisition of AirSep under the related representation and warranty insurance. For the year ended December 31, 2016, this reduced BioMedical segment’s cost of sales by $15.2 and Corporate SG&A expenses by $0.3, net of associated legal fees recorded in 2016. The 2016 operating income also includes asset impairment charges of $1.2 attributed to D&S.

[7] Includes asset impairment charges of $255.1 for the year ended December 31, 2015, attributed to E&C – $68.8, D&S – $2.0, and BioMedical – $184.3.

[8] During the fourth quarter of 2017, we recorded a $4.9 loss on extinguishment of debt associated with the repurchase of $192.9 principal amount of our $250.0 2.00% convertible notes due August 2018 and refinance of our senior secured revolving credit facility.

[9] The fourth quarter of 2017 includes a one-time $22.5 net favorable tax benefit that was recorded during the fourth quarter of 2017, which resulted from the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This benefit mainly consisted of a one-time, provisional benefit of $26.9 related to the remeasurement of certain of our deferred tax liabilities using the lower U.S. federal corporate tax rate of 21%. This was partially offset by (i) a one-time, provisional charge of $8.7 related to the deemed repatriation transition tax, which is a tax on previously untaxed accumulated earnings and profits of certain of our foreign subsidiaries, and (ii) a one-time tax expense and tax benefit of $4.5 and $8.7, respectively, related to our intent to amend pre-acquisition Hudson U.S. federal tax returns.

[10] 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.

[11] 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.

[12] 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.

[13] 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.