diff --git a/src/timer.c b/src/timer.c
index 1bea2a8b..bc680e71 100644
--- a/src/timer.c
+++ b/src/timer.c
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ static int timer_less_than(const struct heap_node* ha,
 int uv_timer_init(uv_loop_t* loop, uv_timer_t* handle) {
   uv__handle_init(loop, (uv_handle_t*)handle, UV_TIMER);
   handle->timer_cb = NULL;
+  handle->timeout = 0;
   handle->repeat = 0;
   return 0;
 }