Debt and Credit Arrangements (Details) Share data in Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended														9 Months Ended				3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended							9 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Chart Ferox [Member] Facility 2 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Line of Credit [Member] Chart Ferox [Member] CZK creditfacilities	Sep. 30, 2012 Line of Credit [Member] Chart Ferox [Member] Facility 1 [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2011 Foreign Facilities [Member] Bonding/Guarantee Facility [Member] Chart Cryogenic Engineering Systems Co., Ltd. [Member] CNY	Oct. 31, 2011 Foreign Facilities [Member] Overdraft Facility [Member] Chart Cryogenic Engineering Systems Co., Ltd. [Member] CNY	Sep. 30, 2012 Foreign Facilities [Member] Line of Credit [Member] Chart Cryogenic Engineering Systems Co., Ltd. [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2011 Foreign Facilities [Member] Line of Credit [Member] Chart Cryogenic Engineering Systems Co., Ltd. [Member] CNY	Sep. 30, 2012 Amended Revolver [Member] Revolving Line of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 25, 2012 Amended Revolver [Member] Revolving Line of Credit [Member] USD ($)	May 18, 2010 Term Loan [Member] Senior Term Loan, Due 2015 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Term Loan [Member] Senior Term Loan, Due 2017 [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 25, 2012 Term Loan [Member] Senior Term Loan, Due 2017 [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 25, 2012 Term Loan [Member] Senior Term Loan, Due 2017 [Member] Percentage in Excess of Federal Funds Effective Rate [Member]	May 18, 2010 Revolving Line of Credit [Member] Revolver [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Convertible Notes Payable [Member] Convertible Notes, Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Convertible Notes Payable [Member] Convertible Notes, Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 Convertible Notes Payable [Member] Convertible Notes, Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Convertible Notes Payable [Member] Convertible Notes, Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011 Convertible Notes Payable [Member] Convertible Notes, Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Convertible Notes Payable [Member] Convertible Notes, Due 2018 [Member] Additional Paid-in Capital [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011 Convertible Notes Payable [Member] Convertible Notes, Due 2018 [Member] Carrying Amount, Deferred Financing Fees [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 25, 2012 Line of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Line of Credit [Member] Amended Senior Credit Facility [Member]	Apr. 25, 2012 Line of Credit [Member] Amended Senior Credit Facility [Member] USD ($) Y	Sep. 30, 2012 Line of Credit [Member] Senior Credit Facility [Member]	May 18, 2010 Line of Credit [Member] Senior Credit Facility [Member] USD ($) Y	Dec. 31, 2011 Subordinated Debt [Member] Subordinated Notes, Due 2015 [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 17, 2011 Subordinated Debt [Member] Subordinated Notes, Due 2015 [Member] USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Stated interest rate																									2.00%
Aggregate principal of amount of debt																									$ 250,000,000									$ 163,175,000
Proceeds from issuance of debt																									242,700,000
Minimum trading days required during thrirty consecutive trading days where last reported sales price is at least 130 percent of conversion price						20 days
Minimum percentage of conversion price of Convertible Notes on each trading day																									130.00%
Maximum days after any five trading day period in which trading price was less than 97 percent of last reported sale price of Common Stock times conversion rate						5 days
Convertible Notes principal amount denominator for trading price																									1,000
Maximum allowable percentage of the product of the last reported sale price of Common Stock and conversion rate for Convertible Notes Payable																									97.00%
Number of common shares convertible (shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Notes)																									14.4865
Conversion price per share																									$ 69.03
Percent of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes plus accrued interest to be purchased by the Company subject to Company undergoing a fundamental change																									100.00%
Minimum holding percentage of convertible notes payable required to declare Convertible Notes to be due and payable in events of default																									25.00%
Percent of Convertible Notes declarable as due and payable in certain events of default																									100.00%
Number of shares of convertible debt hedged and capped call																									3,622
Payment for call options related to convertible notes			0	66,486,000																			66,486,000
Initial cap price of the call transactions and the strike price of warrant transactions (per share)																									84.96
Proceeds from issuance of warrants			0	48,848,000																			48,848,000
Net cost of Convertible Note hedge and all capped transactions																							17,638,000
Liability component of Convertible Notes before present value of equity component																									170,885,000
Percentage used as debt rate for present value of cash flows																									7.90%
Interest expense for the Convertible Notes																					3,549,000	10,514,000	2,254,000
Debt instrument interest expense excluding non-cash accretion expense																					1,250,000	3,750,000	833,000
Interest accretion of Convertible Notes discount																					2,299,000	6,764,000	1,421,000
Carrying amount of deferred financing fees	1,445,000		1,445,000																						7,277,000	2,303,000	4,974,000
Amortization of debt issuance costs	326,000	445,000	1,203,000	1,094,000																	178,000	533,000
Components of Convertible Notes:
Principal balance of the liability component																					250,000,000	250,000,000		250,000,000
Unamortized discount																					(68,735,000)	(68,735,000)		(75,526,000)
Carrying value of liability component																					181,265,000	181,265,000		174,474,000
Equity component, net of deferred taxes																					75,826,000	75,826,000		75,502,000	79,115,000
Number of years to maturity, senior credit facility (in years)																														5		5
Maximum borrowing capacity of line of credit facility								175,000,000		30,000,000	10,000,000		60,000,000		300,000,000	65,000,000		75,000,000		135,000,000										375,000,000		200,000,000
Gross amount of long-term debt																	73,125,000
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding														18,387,000
Sub-limit for issuance of swingline loans															25,000,000					25,000,000
Sub-limit for letters of credit															100,000,000					50,000,000
Maximum amount for foreign currency denominated letters of credit and borrowings															50,000,000					40,000,000
Maximum Amount Of Permitable Subsidiary Borrowings															50,000,000					40,000,000
Amount of expansion option to increase the aggregate principal amount of the Term loan or Revolving Credit Facility																												150,000,000
Duration of time extension under the terms of the Restated Credit Facility																													2 years
Initial percentage of Term Loan payable quarterly due to Restated Credit Facility																		5.00%
Initial duration of quarterly payments on Term Loan under the terms of the Restated Credit Facility																	3 years
Final percentage of Term Loan payable quarterly due to Restated Credit Facility																		10.00%
Final duration of quarterly payments on Term Loan under the terms of the Restated Credit Facility																	2 years
Maximum net debt to EBITDA ratio used as a significant financial covenant for the Restated Credit Facility																														3.25
Minimum interest coverage to EBITDA ratio used as a significant financial covenant for the Restated Credit Facility																														3
Amount of letters of credit outstanding														26,422,000
Line of Credit Facility, Remaining Borrowing Capacity														255,191,000
Short-term Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate														4.25%
Maximum percentage of capital stock guaranteed by Company's material Non-U.S. Subsidiaries for obligations under the Senior Credit Facility																															65.00%
Subordinated notes redemption price percentage of principal																																		103.042%
Redemption price of Subordinated Notes principal amount plus accrued and upaid interest																																		175,600,000
Call premium in conjunction with redemption of Subordinated Notes																																		4,964,000
Deferred financing fees written off due to refinancing			232,000																														2,969,000
Revolving line of credit time to maturity	12 months		12 months
Short-term debt	23,157,000		23,157,000		4,758,000							4,770,000
Number of credit facilities maintained by Chart Ferox								2
Letter of credit and guarantee fees percentage of face amount for maturities up to one year									0.70%
Letter of credit and guarantee fees percentage of face amount for maturities between one and three years									0.80%
Letter of credit and guarantee fees percentage of face amount for maturities between three and five years									1.20%
Letter of credit and guarantee fees percentage of face amount for all maturities							0.70%
Bank guarantees supported by credit facilities									$ 897,000
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate																			0.50%