diff --git a/lib/fluent/plugin/out_forward.rb b/lib/fluent/plugin/out_forward.rb
index 569f3e7049..b777320a6f 100644
--- a/lib/fluent/plugin/out_forward.rb
+++ b/lib/fluent/plugin/out_forward.rb
@@ -43,8 +43,10 @@ def initialize
         :tcp
       when 'udp'
         :udp
+      when 'none'
+        :none
       else
-        raise ConfigError, "forward output heartbeat type should be 'tcp' or 'udp'"
+        raise ConfigError, "forward output heartbeat type should be 'tcp', 'udp', or 'none'"
       end
     end
     config_param :heartbeat_interval, :time, :default => 1
@@ -111,7 +113,12 @@ def configure(conf)
 
         node_conf = NodeConfig.new(name, host, port, weight, standby, failure,
           @phi_threshold, recover_sample_size, @expire_dns_cache, @phi_failure_detector)
-        @nodes << Node.new(log, node_conf)
+
+        if @heartbeat_type == :none
+          @nodes << NoneHeartbeatNode.new(log, node_conf)
+        else
+          @nodes << Node.new(log, node_conf)
+        end
         log.info "adding forwarding server '#{name}'", :host=>host, :port=>port, :weight=>weight, :plugin_id=>plugin_id
       }
     end
@@ -123,32 +130,36 @@ def start
       rebuild_weight_array
       @rr = 0
 
-      @loop = Coolio::Loop.new
+      unless @heartbeat_type == :none
+        @loop = Coolio::Loop.new
 
-      if @heartbeat_type == :udp
-        # assuming all hosts use udp
-        @usock = SocketUtil.create_udp_socket(@nodes.first.host)
-        @usock.fcntl(Fcntl::F_SETFL, Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK)
-        @hb = HeartbeatHandler.new(@usock, method(:on_heartbeat))
-        @loop.attach(@hb)
-      end
+        if @heartbeat_type == :udp
+          # assuming all hosts use udp
+          @usock = SocketUtil.create_udp_socket(@nodes.first.host)
+          @usock.fcntl(Fcntl::F_SETFL, Fcntl::O_NONBLOCK)
+          @hb = HeartbeatHandler.new(@usock, method(:on_heartbeat))
+          @loop.attach(@hb)
+        end
 
-      @timer = HeartbeatRequestTimer.new(@heartbeat_interval, method(:on_timer))
-      @loop.attach(@timer)
+        @timer = HeartbeatRequestTimer.new(@heartbeat_interval, method(:on_timer))
+        @loop.attach(@timer)
 
-      @thread = Thread.new(&method(:run))
+        @thread = Thread.new(&method(:run))
+      end
     end
 
     def shutdown
       @finished = true
-      @loop.watchers.each {|w| w.detach }
-      @loop.stop
-      @thread.join
+      if @loop
+        @loop.watchers.each {|w| w.detach }
+        @loop.stop
+      end
+      @thread.join if @thread
       @usock.close if @usock
     end
 
     def run
-      @loop.run
+      @loop.run if @loop
     rescue
       log.error "unexpected error", :error=>$!.to_s
       log.error_backtrace
@@ -514,6 +525,21 @@ def to_msgpack(out = '')
       end
     end
 
+    # Override Node to disable heartbeat
+    class NoneHeartbeatNode < Node
+      def available?
+        true
+      end
+
+      def tick
+        false
+      end
+
+      def heartbeat(detect=true)
+        true
+      end
+    end
+
     class FailureDetector
       PHI_FACTOR = 1.0 / Math.log(10.0)
       SAMPLE_SIZE = 1000
diff --git a/test/plugin/test_out_forward.rb b/test/plugin/test_out_forward.rb
index a657362135..3bce14607d 100644
--- a/test/plugin/test_out_forward.rb
+++ b/test/plugin/test_out_forward.rb
@@ -59,6 +59,11 @@ def test_configure_tcp_heartbeat
     assert_equal :tcp, d.instance.heartbeat_type
   end
 
+  def test_configure_none_heartbeat
+    d = create_driver(CONFIG + "\nheartbeat_type none")
+    assert_equal :none, d.instance.heartbeat_type
+  end
+
   def test_phi_failure_detector
     d = create_driver(CONFIG + %[phi_failure_detector false \n phi_threshold 0])
     node = d.instance.nodes.first
@@ -327,6 +332,20 @@ def shutdown
     }.configure(conf).inject_router()
   end
 
+  def test_heartbeat_type_none
+    d = create_driver(CONFIG + "\nheartbeat_type none")
+    node = d.instance.nodes.first
+    assert_equal Fluent::ForwardOutput::NoneHeartbeatNode, node.class
+
+    d.instance.start
+    assert_nil d.instance.instance_variable_get(:@loop)   # no HeartbeatHandler, or HeartbeatRequestTimer
+    assert_nil d.instance.instance_variable_get(:@thread) # no HeartbeatHandler, or HeartbeatRequestTimer
+
+    stub(node.failure).phi { raise 'Should not be called' }
+    node.tick
+    assert_equal node.available, true
+  end
+
   class DummyEngineDriver < Fluent::Test::TestDriver
     def initialize(klass, &block)
       super(klass, &block)