diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 2b7b2ef1..3132beac 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@
             <dependency>
                 <groupId>com.ecwid.consul</groupId>
                 <artifactId>consul-api</artifactId>
-                <version>1.0</version>
+                <version>1.0.8</version>
                 <exclusions>
                     <exclusion>
                         <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
@@ -177,6 +177,11 @@
                 <artifactId>ribbon-httpclient</artifactId>
                 <version>${ribbon.version}</version>
             </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>joda-time</groupId>
+                <artifactId>joda-time</artifactId>
+                <version>2.7</version>
+            </dependency>
             <dependency>
                 <groupId>org.projectlombok</groupId>
                 <artifactId>lombok</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-cloud-consul-discovery/pom.xml b/spring-cloud-consul-discovery/pom.xml
index df57be82..a6695ec4 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-consul-discovery/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-cloud-consul-discovery/pom.xml
@@ -47,6 +47,10 @@
 			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
 			<scope>test</scope>
 		</dependency>
-	</dependencies>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>joda-time</groupId>
+            <artifactId>joda-time</artifactId>
+        </dependency>
+    </dependencies>
 
 </project>
diff --git a/spring-cloud-consul-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/consul/discovery/TtlScheduler.java b/spring-cloud-consul-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/consul/discovery/TtlScheduler.java
index e743c0ca..1fdc96a8 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-consul-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/consul/discovery/TtlScheduler.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-consul-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/consul/discovery/TtlScheduler.java
@@ -5,9 +5,15 @@ import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
 
 import javax.annotation.PostConstruct;
+import javax.validation.constraints.DecimalMax;
+import javax.validation.constraints.DecimalMin;
+import javax.validation.constraints.Max;
+import javax.validation.constraints.Min;
 
 import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
 
+import org.joda.time.DateTime;
+import org.joda.time.Period;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
 import org.springframework.boot.context.properties.ConfigurationProperties;
@@ -20,34 +26,39 @@ import com.ecwid.consul.v1.agent.model.NewService;
  * Created by nicu on 11.03.2015.
  */
 @Slf4j
-@ConfigurationProperties
+@ConfigurationProperties(prefix = "consul.heartbeat")
 public class TtlScheduler {
 
-	private final Map<String, Long> serviceHeartbeats = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
+	public static final DateTime EXPIRED_DATE = new DateTime(0);
+	private final Map<String, DateTime> serviceHeartbeats = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
 	private final AtomicBoolean heartbeatingNow = new AtomicBoolean();
 
-    @Value("${consul.ttl:3}")
-	private volatile int ttl;
+    @Min(1)
+    @Max(10)
+	private volatile int ttl = 3;
 
-    @Value("${consul.heartbeatIntervalRatio:0.66}")
-    private volatile float heartbeatIntervalRatio;
+    @DecimalMin("0.1")
+    @DecimalMax("0.9")
+	private volatile double intervalRatio = 2.0/3.0;
 
-	private volatile int heartbeatInterval;
+	private volatile Period heartbeatInterval;
 
 	@Autowired
 	private ConsulClient client;
 
 	@PostConstruct
-    public void computeHeartbeatInterval() {
-        // heartbeat rate at ratio * ttl, but no later than ttl -1s and, (under lesser priority), no sooner than 1s from now
-        heartbeatInterval = Math.round(Math.max(ttl - 1, Math.min(ttl * heartbeatIntervalRatio, 1)));
-    }
+	public void computeHeartbeatInterval() {
+		// heartbeat rate at ratio * ttl, but no later than ttl -1s and, (under lesser
+		// priority), no sooner than 1s from now
+		heartbeatInterval = new Period(Math.round(1000 * Math.max(ttl - 1,
+				Math.min(ttl * intervalRatio, 1))));
+	}
 
 	/**
 	 * Add a service to the checks loop.
 	 */
 	public void add(final NewService service) {
-		serviceHeartbeats.put(service.getId(), 0L);
+		serviceHeartbeats.put(service.getId(), EXPIRED_DATE);
 	}
 
 	public void remove(String serviceId) {
@@ -58,15 +69,15 @@ public class TtlScheduler {
 		return ttl;
 	}
 
-	@Scheduled(initialDelay = 0, fixedRate = 100)
+	@Scheduled(initialDelay = 0, fixedRateString = "${consul.heartbeat.fixedRate:201000}")
 	private void heartbeatServices() {
 		if (heartbeatingNow.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
 			for (String serviceId : serviceHeartbeats.keySet()) {
-				long latestHeartbeatDoneForService = serviceHeartbeats.get(serviceId);
-				if (latestHeartbeatDoneForService + heartbeatInterval <= System
-						.currentTimeMillis()) {
+				DateTime latestHeartbeatDoneForService = serviceHeartbeats.get(serviceId);
+				if (latestHeartbeatDoneForService.plus(heartbeatInterval).isBefore(
+						new DateTime())) {
 					client.agentCheckPass(serviceId);
-					serviceHeartbeats.put(serviceId, System.currentTimeMillis());
+					serviceHeartbeats.put(serviceId, new DateTime());
 				}
 			}
 		}