diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/akka-cluster/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index 7fb930eaef..b9104fe6cf 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -49,5 +49,14 @@ akka {
 
       max-sample-size = 1000
     }
+
+    # If the tick-duration of the default scheduler is longer than the tick-duration
+    # configured here a dedicated scheduler will be used for periodic tasks of the cluster,
+    # otherwise the default scheduler is used.
+    # See akka.scheduler settings for more details about the HashedWheelTimer.
+    scheduler {
+      tick-duration = 33ms
+      ticks-per-wheel = 512
+    }
   }
 }
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/Cluster.scala b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/Cluster.scala
index 46c6919cc1..dda05bf6b0 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/Cluster.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/Cluster.scala
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit._
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException
 import akka.jsr166y.ThreadLocalRandom
 import java.lang.management.ManagementFactory
+import java.io.Closeable
 import javax.management._
 import scala.collection.immutable.{ Map, SortedSet }
 import scala.annotation.tailrec
@@ -435,10 +436,21 @@ class Cluster(system: ExtendedActorSystem, val failureDetector: FailureDetector)
   // ===================== WORK DAEMONS =====================
   // ========================================================
 
-  private def hwt = new HashedWheelTimer(log,
-    MonitorableThreadFactory(system.name + "-cluster-scheduler", system.settings.Daemonicity, None), 50.millis,
-    system.settings.SchedulerTicksPerWheel)
-  private val clusterScheduler = new DefaultScheduler(hwt, log, system.dispatcher)
+  private def useDedicatedScheduler: Boolean = system.settings.SchedulerTickDuration > SchedulerTickDuration
+
+  private val clusterScheduler: Scheduler = {
+    if (useDedicatedScheduler) {
+      val threadFactory = system.threadFactory match {
+        case tf: MonitorableThreadFactory ⇒ tf.copy(name = tf.name + "-cluster-scheduler")
+        case tf                           ⇒ tf
+      }
+      val hwt = new HashedWheelTimer(log,
+        threadFactory,
+        SchedulerTickDuration, SchedulerTicksPerWheel)
+      new DefaultScheduler(hwt, log, system.dispatcher)
+    } else
+      system.scheduler
+  }
 
   // start periodic gossip to random nodes in cluster
   private val gossipTask = FixedRateTask(clusterScheduler, PeriodicTasksInitialDelay, GossipInterval) {
@@ -527,13 +539,21 @@ class Cluster(system: ExtendedActorSystem, val failureDetector: FailureDetector)
   def shutdown(): Unit = {
     if (isRunning.compareAndSet(true, false)) {
       log.info("Cluster Node [{}] - Shutting down cluster Node and cluster daemons...", selfAddress)
+
+      // cancel the periodic tasks, note that otherwise they will be run when scheduler is shutdown
       gossipTask.cancel()
       heartbeatTask.cancel()
       failureDetectorReaperTask.cancel()
       leaderActionsTask.cancel()
-      clusterScheduler.close()
+      if (useDedicatedScheduler) clusterScheduler match {
+        case x: Closeable ⇒ x.close()
+        case _            ⇒
+      }
+      // FIXME isTerminated check can be removed when ticket #2221 is fixed
+      // now it prevents logging if system is shutdown (or in progress of shutdown)
       if (!clusterDaemons.isTerminated)
         system.stop(clusterDaemons)
+
       try {
         mBeanServer.unregisterMBean(clusterMBeanName)
       } catch {
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSettings.scala b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSettings.scala
index 9a17f2a0eb..ee4f6a03d2 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSettings.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSettings.scala
@@ -13,22 +13,24 @@ import akka.actor.AddressFromURIString
 
 class ClusterSettings(val config: Config, val systemName: String) {
   import config._
-  val FailureDetectorThreshold = getInt("akka.cluster.failure-detector.threshold")
-  val FailureDetectorMaxSampleSize = getInt("akka.cluster.failure-detector.max-sample-size")
-  val FailureDetectorImplementationClass: Option[String] = getString("akka.cluster.failure-detector.implementation-class") match {
+  final val FailureDetectorThreshold = getInt("akka.cluster.failure-detector.threshold")
+  final val FailureDetectorMaxSampleSize = getInt("akka.cluster.failure-detector.max-sample-size")
+  final val FailureDetectorImplementationClass: Option[String] = getString("akka.cluster.failure-detector.implementation-class") match {
     case ""   ⇒ None
     case fqcn ⇒ Some(fqcn)
   }
-  val NodeToJoin: Option[Address] = getString("akka.cluster.node-to-join") match {
+  final val NodeToJoin: Option[Address] = getString("akka.cluster.node-to-join") match {
     case ""                         ⇒ None
     case AddressFromURIString(addr) ⇒ Some(addr)
   }
-  val PeriodicTasksInitialDelay = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.periodic-tasks-initial-delay"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val GossipInterval = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.gossip-interval"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val HeartbeatInterval = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.heartbeat-interval"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val LeaderActionsInterval = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.leader-actions-interval"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val UnreachableNodesReaperInterval = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.unreachable-nodes-reaper-interval"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val NrOfGossipDaemons = getInt("akka.cluster.nr-of-gossip-daemons")
-  val NrOfDeputyNodes = getInt("akka.cluster.nr-of-deputy-nodes")
-  val AutoDown = getBoolean("akka.cluster.auto-down")
+  final val PeriodicTasksInitialDelay = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.periodic-tasks-initial-delay"), MILLISECONDS)
+  final val GossipInterval = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.gossip-interval"), MILLISECONDS)
+  final val HeartbeatInterval = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.heartbeat-interval"), MILLISECONDS)
+  final val LeaderActionsInterval = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.leader-actions-interval"), MILLISECONDS)
+  final val UnreachableNodesReaperInterval = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.unreachable-nodes-reaper-interval"), MILLISECONDS)
+  final val NrOfGossipDaemons = getInt("akka.cluster.nr-of-gossip-daemons")
+  final val NrOfDeputyNodes = getInt("akka.cluster.nr-of-deputy-nodes")
+  final val AutoDown = getBoolean("akka.cluster.auto-down")
+  final val SchedulerTickDuration = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.scheduler.tick-duration"), MILLISECONDS)
+  final val SchedulerTicksPerWheel = getInt("akka.cluster.scheduler.ticks-per-wheel")
 }
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterConfigSpec.scala b/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterConfigSpec.scala
index 6c9023d410..481d9f7e5a 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterConfigSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterConfigSpec.scala
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ class ClusterConfigSpec extends AkkaSpec {
       NrOfGossipDaemons must be(4)
       NrOfDeputyNodes must be(3)
       AutoDown must be(true)
+      SchedulerTickDuration must be(33 millis)
+      SchedulerTicksPerWheel must be(512)
     }
   }
 }