diff --git a/lib/logstash/inputs/redis.rb b/lib/logstash/inputs/redis.rb
index 79bc51e..8c1472f 100644
--- a/lib/logstash/inputs/redis.rb
+++ b/lib/logstash/inputs/redis.rb
@@ -17,8 +17,6 @@
 # newer. Anything older does not support the operations used by batching.
 #
 module LogStash module Inputs class Redis < LogStash::Inputs::Threadable
-  BATCH_EMPTY_SLEEP = 0.25
-
   config_name "redis"
 
   default :codec, "json"
@@ -49,6 +47,9 @@ module LogStash module Inputs class Redis < LogStash::Inputs::Threadable
   # The number of events to return from Redis using EVAL.
   config :batch_count, :validate => :number, :default => 125
 
+  # The number of seconds to sleep if Redis list is empty
+  config :sleep_sec, :validate => :number, :default => 0.25
+
   public
   # public API
   # use to store a proc that can provide a redis instance or mock
@@ -192,7 +193,7 @@ def list_batch_listener(redis, output_queue)
       end
 
       if results.size.zero?
-        sleep BATCH_EMPTY_SLEEP
+        sleep @sleep_sec
       end
 
       # Below is a commented-out implementation of 'batch fetch'