diff --git a/lib/vmpooler/pool_manager.rb b/lib/vmpooler/pool_manager.rb
index b4c07b0..3f4a8b6 100644
--- a/lib/vmpooler/pool_manager.rb
+++ b/lib/vmpooler/pool_manager.rb
@@ -737,13 +737,12 @@ module Vmpooler
       end
     end
 
-    def check_ready_pool_vms(pool_name, provider, pool_check_response, inventory, pool_ttl = nil)
-      # READY
+    def check_ready_pool_vms(pool_name, provider, pool_check_response, inventory, pool_ttl = 0)
       $redis.smembers("vmpooler__ready__#{pool_name}").each do |vm|
         if inventory[vm]
           begin
             pool_check_response[:checked_ready_vms] += 1
-            check_ready_vm(vm, pool_name, pool_ttl || 0, provider)
+            check_ready_vm(vm, pool_name, pool_ttl, provider)
           rescue => err
             $logger.log('d', "[!] [#{pool_name}] _check_pool failed with an error while evaluating ready VMs: #{err}")
           end
@@ -753,6 +752,22 @@ module Vmpooler
       end
     end
 
+    def check_pending_pool_vms(pool_name, provider, pool_check_response, inventory, pool_timeout = nil)
+      pool_timeout ||= $config[:config]['timeout'] || 15
+      $redis.smembers("vmpooler__pending__#{pool_name}").each do |vm|
+        if inventory[vm]
+          begin
+            pool_check_response[:checked_pending_vms] += 1
+            check_pending_vm(vm, pool_name, pool_timeout, provider)
+          rescue => err
+            $logger.log('d', "[!] [#{pool_name}] _check_pool failed with an error while evaluating pending VMs: #{err}")
+          end
+        else
+          fail_pending_vm(vm, pool_name, pool_timeout, false)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
     def _check_pool(pool, provider)
       pool_check_response = {
         discovered_vms: 0,
@@ -774,20 +789,7 @@ module Vmpooler
 
       check_ready_pool_vms(pool['name'], provider, pool_check_response, inventory, pool['ready_ttl'])
 
-      # PENDING
-      $redis.smembers("vmpooler__pending__#{pool['name']}").each do |vm|
-        pool_timeout = pool['timeout'] || $config[:config]['timeout'] || 15
-        if inventory[vm]
-          begin
-            pool_check_response[:checked_pending_vms] += 1
-            check_pending_vm(vm, pool['name'], pool_timeout, provider)
-          rescue => err
-            $logger.log('d', "[!] [#{pool['name']}] _check_pool failed with an error while evaluating pending VMs: #{err}")
-          end
-        else
-          fail_pending_vm(vm, pool['name'], pool_timeout, false)
-        end
-      end
+      check_pending_pool_vms(pool['name'], provider, pool_check_response, inventory, pool['timeout'])
 
       # COMPLETED
       $redis.smembers("vmpooler__completed__#{pool['name']}").each do |vm|
diff --git a/spec/unit/pool_manager_spec.rb b/spec/unit/pool_manager_spec.rb
index 6e74433..1609433 100644
--- a/spec/unit/pool_manager_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/pool_manager_spec.rb
@@ -2742,7 +2742,6 @@ EOT
 
   describe '#check_ready_pool_vms' do
     let(:provider) { double('provider') }
-    let(:ttl) { 0 }
     let(:pool_check_response) {
       {:checked_ready_vms => 0}
     }
diff --git a/vmpooler.yaml.example b/vmpooler.yaml.example
index 03e0e38..8644ff8 100644
--- a/vmpooler.yaml.example
+++ b/vmpooler.yaml.example
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@
 #     (optional; default: '10')
 #
 #   - timeout
-#     How long (in minutes) before marking a clone as 'failed' and retrying.
+#     How long (in minutes) before marking a clone in 'pending' queues as 'failed' and retrying.
 #     (optional; default: '15')
 #
 #   - vm_checktime
@@ -500,7 +500,7 @@
 #     (optional)
 #
 #   - timeout
-#     How long (in minutes) before marking a clone as 'failed' and retrying.
+#     How long (in minutes) before marking a clone in 'pending' queues as 'failed' and retrying.
 #     This setting overrides any globally-configured timeout setting.
 #     (optional; default: '15')
 #