I have one of the short 40 plate chillers from kegcowboy. I think it's the same as the one from dudadiesel.
For me, it was my first ever time using a whirlpool, pump, or plate chiller. But it still all went smooth. I used a hop spider with my pellet hops, which did a pretty good job of containing the hop debris which i've read is what causes clogging problems.
The whirlpool took care of the rest of the trub. I was pretty impressed how well it seemed to work. Maybe on my next brew something will clog and i'll be singing a different tune.
I considered removing the chiller and whirlpooling without it and then just using it to chill down into the carboy. I figured it would take longer to chill than it did, so I could go that route next time. My groundwater was only about 50 degrees that day, and will probably be in the high 70s in the summer, so it might depend on the season.