Goodwill and Intangible Assets - Goodwill (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Goodwill
Beginning balance, goodwill	$ 811.4
Foreign currency translation adjustments	5.8
Purchase price adjustment	0.4
Ending balance, goodwill	817.6
Accumulated goodwill impairment loss	129.0	$ 129.0
D&S East
Goodwill
Beginning balance, goodwill	117.0
Foreign currency translation adjustments	4.5
Purchase price adjustment	0.0
Ending balance, goodwill	121.5
D&S West
Goodwill
Beginning balance, goodwill	118.6
Foreign currency translation adjustments	0.0
Purchase price adjustment	0.0
Ending balance, goodwill	118.6
Accumulated goodwill impairment loss	64.4	64.4
E&C Cryogenics
Goodwill
Beginning balance, goodwill	176.2
Foreign currency translation adjustments	0.0
Purchase price adjustment	0.0
Ending balance, goodwill	176.2
Accumulated goodwill impairment loss	40.9	40.9
E&C FinFans
Goodwill
Beginning balance, goodwill	399.6
Foreign currency translation adjustments	1.3
Purchase price adjustment	0.4
Ending balance, goodwill	401.3
Accumulated goodwill impairment loss	$ 23.7	$ 23.7

Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(10)(1))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120398452&loc=d3e534808-122878

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120320667&loc=SL49117168-202975

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99380562&loc=d3e13770-109266

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_Goodwill
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of accumulated impairment loss for an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (h)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121556970&loc=d3e13816-109267

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121556970&loc=d3e13816-109267

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GoodwillImpairedAccumulatedImpairmentLoss
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of increase (decrease) from adjustments after acquisition date under purchase accounting of an asset representing the future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GoodwillPurchaseAccountingAdjustments
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

A roll forward is a reconciliation of a concept from the beginning of a period to the end of a period.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GoodwillRollForward
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of increase (decrease) from foreign currency translation adjustments and purchase accounting adjustments of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 10
-Section 25
-Paragraph 16
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116868678&loc=d3e961-128460

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (g)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121556970&loc=d3e13816-109267

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (f)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121556970&loc=d3e13816-109267

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GoodwillTranslationAndPurchaseAccountingAdjustments
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=gtls_DistributionStorageEastMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=gtls_DistributionStorageWestMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=gtls_EnergyAndChemicalsCryogenicsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=gtls_EnergyAndChemicalsFinFansMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: