Just to verify there are a few different types of chillers.
Immersion Chiller - Just a long coil of hose
Recirculating Chillers - Generally a long length of pipe with a large diameter of pope around it so that wart goes one way and cool water goes the oppisite.
Plate Chiller - A big sandwich of metal plates that push wort one way and cool water the other.
As far as i know. plate chillers are a better option for chilling wart because they push a much thinner volume of wort up against the cool water, allowing said volume of wort to become cooler faster compared to the thicker volumes of wart pushed through a immersion chillers pipe.
From a lot of what i have read, Plate chillers are just plain better. I dont know if money is an issue, but you can buy a therminantor for 200 bucks, and it will last you a lifetime.
Can you link me what recirculating chiller you are looking at so i can check it out?