diff --git a/sleekxmpp/stanza/iq.py b/sleekxmpp/stanza/iq.py
index 614d14f..150baa0 100644
--- a/sleekxmpp/stanza/iq.py
+++ b/sleekxmpp/stanza/iq.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 from sleekxmpp.stanza import Error
 from sleekxmpp.stanza.rootstanza import RootStanza
-from sleekxmpp.xmlstream import RESPONSE_TIMEOUT, StanzaBase, ET
+from sleekxmpp.xmlstream import StanzaBase, ET
 from sleekxmpp.xmlstream.handler import Waiter
 from sleekxmpp.xmlstream.matcher import MatcherId
 
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ class Iq(RootStanza):
         StanzaBase.reply(self)
         return self
 
-    def send(self, block=True, timeout=RESPONSE_TIMEOUT):
+    def send(self, block=True, timeout=None):
         """
         Send an <iq> stanza over the XML stream.
 
@@ -174,6 +174,8 @@ class Iq(RootStanza):
                        before exiting the send call if blocking is used.
                        Defaults to sleekxmpp.xmlstream.RESPONSE_TIMEOUT
         """
+        if timeout is None:
+            timeout = self.stream.response_timeout
         if block and self['type'] in ('get', 'set'):
             waitfor = Waiter('IqWait_%s' % self['id'], MatcherId(self['id']))
             self.stream.registerHandler(waitfor)
diff --git a/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/handler/waiter.py b/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/handler/waiter.py
index a4bc354..341c01f 100644
--- a/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/handler/waiter.py
+++ b/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/handler/waiter.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ try:
 except ImportError:
     import Queue as queue
 
-from sleekxmpp.xmlstream import StanzaBase, RESPONSE_TIMEOUT
+from sleekxmpp.xmlstream import StanzaBase
 from sleekxmpp.xmlstream.handler.base import BaseHandler
 
 
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ class Waiter(BaseHandler):
         """
         pass
 
-    def wait(self, timeout=RESPONSE_TIMEOUT):
+    def wait(self, timeout=None):
         """
         Block an event handler while waiting for a stanza to arrive.
 
@@ -84,6 +84,9 @@ class Waiter(BaseHandler):
                        arrive. Defaults to the global default timeout
                        value sleekxmpp.xmlstream.RESPONSE_TIMEOUT.
         """
+        if timeout is None:
+            timeout = self.stream.response_timeout
+
         try:
             stanza = self._payload.get(True, timeout)
         except queue.Empty:
diff --git a/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/xmlstream.py b/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/xmlstream.py
index 30b76ce..9ae31a2 100644
--- a/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/xmlstream.py
+++ b/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/xmlstream.py
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ except ImportError:
 from sleekxmpp.thirdparty.statemachine import StateMachine
 from sleekxmpp.xmlstream import Scheduler, tostring
 from sleekxmpp.xmlstream.stanzabase import StanzaBase, ET
+from sleekxmpp.xmlstream.handler import Waiter, XMLCallback
+from sleekxmpp.xmlstream.matcher import MatchXMLMask
 
 # In Python 2.x, file socket objects are broken. A patched socket
 # wrapper is provided for this case in filesocket.py.
@@ -162,6 +164,8 @@ class XMLStream(object):
         self.ssl_support = SSL_SUPPORT
         self.ssl_version = ssl.PROTOCOL_TLSv1
 
+        self.response_timeout = RESPONSE_TIMEOUT
+
         self.state = StateMachine(('disconnected', 'connected'))
         self.state._set_state('disconnected')
 
@@ -458,8 +462,6 @@ class XMLStream(object):
         """
         # To prevent circular dependencies, we must load the matcher
         # and handler classes here.
-        from sleekxmpp.xmlstream.matcher import MatchXMLMask
-        from sleekxmpp.xmlstream.handler import XMLCallback
 
         if name is None:
             name = 'add_handler_%s' % self.getNewId()
@@ -606,7 +608,7 @@ class XMLStream(object):
         """
         return xml
 
-    def send(self, data, mask=None, timeout=RESPONSE_TIMEOUT):
+    def send(self, data, mask=None, timeout=None):
         """
         A wrapper for send_raw for sending stanza objects.
 
@@ -621,6 +623,9 @@ class XMLStream(object):
             timeout -- Time in seconds to wait for a response before
                        continuing. Defaults to RESPONSE_TIMEOUT.
         """
+        if timeout is None:
+            timeout = self.response_timeout
+
         if hasattr(mask, 'xml'):
             mask = mask.xml
         data = str(data)
@@ -643,7 +648,7 @@ class XMLStream(object):
         self.send_queue.put(data)
         return True
 
-    def send_xml(self, data, mask=None, timeout=RESPONSE_TIMEOUT):
+    def send_xml(self, data, mask=None, timeout=None):
         """
         Send an XML object on the stream, and optionally wait
         for a response.
@@ -657,6 +662,8 @@ class XMLStream(object):
             timeout -- Time in seconds to wait for a response before
                        continuing. Defaults to RESPONSE_TIMEOUT.
         """
+        if timeout is None:
+            timeout = self.response_timeout
         return self.send(tostring(data), mask, timeout)
 
     def process(self, threaded=True):