Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Income Statement [Abstract]
Sales	$ 289.3	$ 244.1
Cost of sales	222.2	177.2
Gross profit	67.1	66.9
Selling, general, and administrative expenses	55.3	46.6
Amortization expense	7.2	5.5
Operating expenses	62.5	52.1
Operating income	4.6	14.8
Other expenses:
Interest expense, net	5.3	6.4
Financing costs amortization	0.4	0.3
Foreign currency (gain) loss	(0.1)	1.8
Other expenses, net	5.6	8.5
(Loss) income from continuing operations before income taxes	(1.0)	6.3
Income tax (benefit) expense	(2.0)	1.6
Net income from continuing operations	1.0	4.7
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax	0.0	1.6
Net income	1.0	6.3
Less: Income attributable to noncontrolling interests of continuing operations, net of taxes	0.1	0.5
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	0.9	5.8
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.
Income from continuing operations	0.9	4.2
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax	0.0	1.6
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	$ 0.9	$ 5.8
Basic earnings per common share attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.
Income from continuing operations (usd per share)	$ 0.03	$ 0.14
Income from discontinued operations (usd per share)	0.00	0.05
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. (usd per share)	0.03	0.19
Diluted earnings per common share attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.
Income from continuing operations (usd per share)	0.03	0.13
Income from discontinued operations (usd per share)	0.00	0.05
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. (usd per share)	$ 0.03	$ 0.18
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic (shares)	31,570	30,910
Diluted (shares)	33,810	31,660
Comprehensive (loss) income, net of taxes	$ (3.5)	$ 18.8
Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests, net of taxes	0.2	0.6
Comprehensive (loss) income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc., net of taxes	$ (3.7)	$ 18.2