diff --git a/tools/utils/http-helpers.js b/tools/utils/http-helpers.js
index 5555433cf3..7cb8c7f4af 100644
--- a/tools/utils/http-helpers.js
+++ b/tools/utils/http-helpers.js
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ var auth = require('../meteor-services/auth.js');
 var config = require('../meteor-services/config.js');
 var release = require('../packaging/release.js');
 var Console = require('../console/console.js').Console;
+var timeoutScaleFactor = require('./utils.js').timeoutScaleFactor;
 
 
 // Helper that tracks bytes written to a writable
@@ -244,6 +245,12 @@ _.extend(exports, {
       options.proxy = proxy;
     }
 
+    if (! options.timeout) {
+      // 15 seconds for timeout between initial response headers and data,
+      // and between chunks of data while reading the rest of the response.
+      options.timeout = 15000 * timeoutScaleFactor;
+    }
+
     // request is the most heavy-weight of the tool's npm dependencies; don't
     // require it until we definitely need it.
     Console.debug("Doing HTTP request: ", options.method || 'GET', options.url);