diff --git a/command/agent/agent_test.go b/command/agent/agent_test.go
index 32e5fc4a53..baf5c5dc53 100644
--- a/command/agent/agent_test.go
+++ b/command/agent/agent_test.go
@@ -194,20 +194,20 @@ func TestAgent_ReconnectConfigSettings(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}()
 
-	c.ReconnectTimeoutLan = 2 * time.Hour
-	c.ReconnectTimeoutWan = 3 * time.Hour
+	c.ReconnectTimeoutLan = 24 * time.Hour
+	c.ReconnectTimeoutWan = 36 * time.Hour
 	func() {
 		dir, agent := makeAgent(t, c)
 		defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
 		defer agent.Shutdown()
 
 		lan := agent.consulConfig().SerfLANConfig.ReconnectTimeout
-		if lan != 2*time.Hour {
+		if lan != 24*time.Hour {
 			t.Fatalf("bad: %s", lan.String())
 		}
 
 		wan := agent.consulConfig().SerfWANConfig.ReconnectTimeout
-		if wan != 3*time.Hour {
+		if wan != 36*time.Hour {
 			t.Fatalf("bad: %s", wan.String())
 		}
 	}()
diff --git a/command/agent/config.go b/command/agent/config.go
index ce8287ce95..21a3fa454b 100644
--- a/command/agent/config.go
+++ b/command/agent/config.go
@@ -786,19 +786,25 @@ func DecodeConfig(r io.Reader) (*Config, error) {
 		result.RetryIntervalWan = dur
 	}
 
+	const reconnectTimeoutMin = 8 * time.Hour
 	if raw := result.ReconnectTimeoutLanRaw; raw != "" {
 		dur, err := time.ParseDuration(raw)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("ReconnectTimeoutLan invalid: %v", err)
 		}
+		if dur < reconnectTimeoutMin {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("ReconnectTimeoutLan must be >= %s", reconnectTimeoutMin.String())
+		}
 		result.ReconnectTimeoutLan = dur
 	}
-
 	if raw := result.ReconnectTimeoutWanRaw; raw != "" {
 		dur, err := time.ParseDuration(raw)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("ReconnectTimeoutWan invalid: %v", err)
 		}
+		if dur < reconnectTimeoutMin {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("ReconnectTimeoutWan must be >= %s", reconnectTimeoutMin.String())
+		}
 		result.ReconnectTimeoutWan = dur
 	}
 
diff --git a/command/agent/config_test.go b/command/agent/config_test.go
index 09dad36b8b..3fc0a6880d 100644
--- a/command/agent/config_test.go
+++ b/command/agent/config_test.go
@@ -463,17 +463,27 @@ func TestDecodeConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// Reconnect timeout LAN and WAN
-	input = `{"reconnect_timeout": "1m", "reconnect_timeout_wan": "2m"}`
+	input = `{"reconnect_timeout": "8h", "reconnect_timeout_wan": "10h"}`
 	config, err = DecodeConfig(bytes.NewReader([]byte(input)))
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
-	if config.ReconnectTimeoutLanRaw != "1m" ||
-		config.ReconnectTimeoutLan.String() != "1m0s" ||
-		config.ReconnectTimeoutWanRaw != "2m" ||
-		config.ReconnectTimeoutWan.String() != "2m0s" {
+	if config.ReconnectTimeoutLanRaw != "8h" ||
+		config.ReconnectTimeoutLan.String() != "8h0m0s" ||
+		config.ReconnectTimeoutWanRaw != "10h" ||
+		config.ReconnectTimeoutWan.String() != "10h0m0s" {
 		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", config)
 	}
+	input = `{"reconnect_timeout": "7h"}`
+	config, err = DecodeConfig(bytes.NewReader([]byte(input)))
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("decode should have failed")
+	}
+	input = `{"reconnect_timeout_wan": "7h"}`
+	config, err = DecodeConfig(bytes.NewReader([]byte(input)))
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("decode should have failed")
+	}
 
 	// Static UI server
 	input = `{"ui": true}`
@@ -1364,10 +1374,10 @@ func TestMergeConfig(t *testing.T) {
 		RetryJoinWan:           []string{"1.1.1.1"},
 		RetryIntervalWanRaw:    "10s",
 		RetryIntervalWan:       10 * time.Second,
-		ReconnectTimeoutLanRaw: "1s",
-		ReconnectTimeoutLan:    1 * time.Second,
-		ReconnectTimeoutWanRaw: "2s",
-		ReconnectTimeoutWan:    2 * time.Second,
+		ReconnectTimeoutLanRaw: "24h",
+		ReconnectTimeoutLan:    24 * time.Hour,
+		ReconnectTimeoutWanRaw: "36h",
+		ReconnectTimeoutWan:    36 * time.Hour,
 		CheckUpdateInterval:    8 * time.Minute,
 		CheckUpdateIntervalRaw: "8m",
 		ACLToken:               "1234",
diff --git a/website/source/docs/agent/options.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/agent/options.html.markdown
index fc21a7e2e8..06c1e404d0 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/agent/options.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/agent/options.html.markdown
@@ -583,13 +583,15 @@ Consul will not enable TLS for the HTTP API unless the `https` port has been ass
 * <a name="reconnect_timeout"></a><a href="#reconnect_timeout">`reconnect_timeout`</a> This controls
   how long it takes for a failed node to be completely removed from the cluster. This defaults to
   72 hours and it is recommended that this is set to at least double the maximum expected recoverable
-  outage time for a node or network partition. The value is a time with a unit suffix, which can be
-  "s", "m", "h" for seconds, minutes, or hours.
+  outage time for a node or network partition. WARNING: Setting this time too low could cause Consul
+  servers to be removed from quorum during an extended node failure or partition, which could complicate
+  recovery of the cluster. The value is a time with a unit suffix, which can be "s", "m", "h" for seconds,
+  minutes, or hours. The value must be >= 8 hours.
 
 * <a name="reconnect_timeout_wan"></a><a href="#reconnect_timeout_wan">`reconnect_timeout_wan`</a> This
   is the WAN equivalent of the <a href="#reconnect_timeout">`reconnect_timeout`</a> parameter, which
   controls how long it takes for a failed server to be completely removed from the WAN pool. This also
-  defaults to 72 hours.
+  defaults to 72 hours, and must be >= 8 hours.
 
 * <a name="recursor"></a><a href="#recursor">`recursor`</a> Provides a single recursor address.
   This has been deprecated, and the value is appended to the [`recursors`](#recursors) list for