diff --git a/eth2/utils/remote_beacon_node/src/lib.rs b/eth2/utils/remote_beacon_node/src/lib.rs
index e42fbda27f..50dcff59f6 100644
--- a/eth2/utils/remote_beacon_node/src/lib.rs
+++ b/eth2/utils/remote_beacon_node/src/lib.rs
@@ -35,9 +35,14 @@ pub struct RemoteBeaconNode<E: EthSpec> {
 }
 
 impl<E: EthSpec> RemoteBeaconNode<E> {
+    /// Uses the default HTTP timeout.
     pub fn new(http_endpoint: String) -> Result<Self, String> {
+        Self::new_with_timeout(http_endpoint, Duration::from_secs(REQUEST_TIMEOUT_SECONDS))
+    }
+
+    pub fn new_with_timeout(http_endpoint: String, timeout: Duration) -> Result<Self, String> {
         Ok(Self {
-            http: HttpClient::new(http_endpoint)
+            http: HttpClient::new(http_endpoint, timeout)
                 .map_err(|e| format!("Unable to create http client: {:?}", e))?,
         })
     }
@@ -65,12 +70,10 @@ pub struct HttpClient<E> {
 
 impl<E: EthSpec> HttpClient<E> {
     /// Creates a new instance (without connecting to the node).
-    ///
-    /// The `timeout` is set to 15 seconds.
-    pub fn new(server_url: String) -> Result<Self, Error> {
+    pub fn new(server_url: String, timeout: Duration) -> Result<Self, Error> {
         Ok(Self {
             client: ClientBuilder::new()
-                .timeout(Duration::from_secs(REQUEST_TIMEOUT_SECONDS))
+                .timeout(timeout)
                 .build()
                 .expect("should build from static configuration"),
             url: Url::parse(&server_url)?,
diff --git a/validator_client/src/lib.rs b/validator_client/src/lib.rs
index 7c5b787d87..52f6360ac9 100644
--- a/validator_client/src/lib.rs
+++ b/validator_client/src/lib.rs
@@ -34,8 +34,12 @@ use tokio::timer::Delay;
 use types::EthSpec;
 use validator_store::ValidatorStore;
 
+/// The interval between attempts to contact the beacon node during startup.
 const RETRY_DELAY: Duration = Duration::from_secs(2);
 
+/// The global timeout for HTTP events.
+const HTTP_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(12);
+
 #[derive(Clone)]
 pub struct ProductionValidatorClient<T: EthSpec> {
     context: RuntimeContext<T>,
@@ -76,7 +80,7 @@ impl<T: EthSpec> ProductionValidatorClient<T> {
             "datadir" => format!("{:?}", config.data_dir),
         );
 
-        RemoteBeaconNode::new(config.http_server.clone())
+        RemoteBeaconNode::new_with_timeout(config.http_server.clone(), HTTP_TIMEOUT)
             .map_err(|e| format!("Unable to init beacon node http client: {}", e))
             .into_future()
             .and_then(move |beacon_node| wait_for_node(beacon_node, log_2))