diff --git a/ironic_inspector/conf/default.py b/ironic_inspector/conf/default.py
index 5c7c75a97..611a707a9 100644
--- a/ironic_inspector/conf/default.py
+++ b/ironic_inspector/conf/default.py
@@ -31,6 +31,9 @@ _OPTS = [
                       'options. "noauth" will disable all authentication.')),
     cfg.IntOpt('timeout',
                default=3600,
+               # We're using timedelta which can overflow if somebody sets this
+               # too high, so limit to a sane value of 10 years.
+               max=315576000,
                help=_('Timeout after which introspection is considered '
                       'failed, set to 0 to disable.')),
     cfg.IntOpt('node_status_keep_time',
diff --git a/ironic_inspector/wsgi_service.py b/ironic_inspector/wsgi_service.py
index 33fc40754..21efdbc4b 100644
--- a/ironic_inspector/wsgi_service.py
+++ b/ironic_inspector/wsgi_service.py
@@ -216,10 +216,14 @@ def periodic_clean_up():  # pragma: no cover
     try:
         if node_cache.clean_up():
             pxe_filter.driver().sync(ir_utils.get_client())
-        sync_with_ironic()
     except Exception:
         LOG.exception('Periodic clean up of node cache failed')
 
+    try:
+        sync_with_ironic()
+    except Exception:
+        LOG.exception('Periodic sync of node list with ironic failed')
+
 
 def sync_with_ironic():
     ironic = ir_utils.get_client()