Therminators are not really a good comparison... The design contributes to clogging vs a longer or normal non "winding path" plate chiller.. just saying, with the therminator not only do you pay double,(or in your case apparently triple) you get a 40 plate chiller that performs less effectively than the longer 20 plate models sold for less than $100 AND you get the added benefit of their winding path tech which apparently clogs easier than anything on the market
the fact that you dropped an extra $100 ($300 really?) for it doesnt really say much for your homework skills.
in short the terminator sucks but has a big namebrand behind it making it the most commonly used (and hated) plate chiller and likely the biggest reason for the plate chiller bad rap.