Halloween chainsaw help?
I want a chainsaw to use for halloween. im honestly having trouble finding a chainsaw that has good reviews, but noticed that most of the reviews mention the chainsaw dying from work use. As long as the chainsaw i get can run fine without a chain for about 3 hours it should be fine. any recommendation? it also would be great if it wasent more than 200 bucks.

I’ve thought about this Halloween costume idea before too. And I’ve come to many of the same conclusions that Wisdom did in his answer. It’s just too dangerous. Even without a chain on the bar the power head is still not a safe thing to have in a crowd. As Wisdom mentioned the noise will be intolerable, the muffler will be hotter than heck, you’ll be on the verge of blowing the engine because of over-revving it with no load on it. But what might be worst of all is the exhaust. I know from past experience that chainsaw exhaust in confined spaces is a recipe for nausea. It doesn’t take much, a few minutes will do it. Doesn’t sound like a fun way to celebrate Halloween.
If you absolutely positively have to do it, and a toy chainsaw just won’t "cut" it for you (I know, I know it’s a bad pun) then make a grand, noisy, entrance and scare the daylights out of everyone. Then put the saw away and enjoy the night.
Most homeowner grade chain saws will do what you want. But I know of none that will run at full throttle for 3 hours without refueling. And additionally without the chain you are going to be running the engine with no load. Get yourself a little Poulan or Homelite . You can get either for well under $200. But think thru this whole idea first. Even without the chain, the muffler is going to get quite hot, the saw is going to be noisy, and the bar itself could be dangerous. If you can go to a toy store and find a battery operated saw that makes the chainsaw sound that would be a better approach.