diff --git a/lib/cylon.js b/lib/cylon.js
index a8c3775..65e5bd2 100644
--- a/lib/cylon.js
+++ b/lib/cylon.js
@@ -105,8 +105,9 @@ Cylon.config = function(key) {
 //
 // Returns nothing
 Cylon.halt = function halt(callback) {
-  // set a timeout, in case trying to shut everything down nicely doesn't work
-  Utils.after((1.5).seconds(), callback);
+  // if robots can't shut down quickly enough, forcefully self-terminate
+  var timeout = Config.halt_timeout || 3000
+  Utils.after(timeout, callback);
 
   var fns = [];