diff --git a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/feed/FeedRefreshUpdater.java b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/feed/FeedRefreshUpdater.java
index ed1fc032..8d147377 100644
--- a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/feed/FeedRefreshUpdater.java
+++ b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/feed/FeedRefreshUpdater.java
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ public class FeedRefreshUpdater {
 
 		if (!processed) {
 			// requeue asap
-			feed.setDisabledUntil(Instant.EPOCH);
+			feed.setDisabledUntil(Feed.MINIMUM_DISABLED_UNTIL);
 		}
 
 		if (inserted > 0) {
diff --git a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/model/Feed.java b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/model/Feed.java
index 86ad8895..1fca214f 100644
--- a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/model/Feed.java
+++ b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/model/Feed.java
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ import lombok.Setter;
 @Setter
 public class Feed extends AbstractModel {
 
+	// mariadb timestamp range starts at 1970-01-01 00:00:01
+	public static final Instant MINIMUM_DISABLED_UNTIL = Instant.EPOCH.plusSeconds(1);
+
 	/**
 	 * The url of the feed
 	 */
diff --git a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/service/FeedService.java b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/service/FeedService.java
index 209189e2..a9818f26 100644
--- a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/service/FeedService.java
+++ b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/service/FeedService.java
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ public class FeedService {
 			feed.setUrl(url);
 			feed.setNormalizedUrl(normalizedUrl);
 			feed.setNormalizedUrlHash(normalizedUrlHash);
-			feed.setDisabledUntil(Instant.EPOCH);
+			feed.setDisabledUntil(Feed.MINIMUM_DISABLED_UNTIL);
 			feedDAO.saveOrUpdate(feed);
 		}
 		return feed;