diff --git a/brozzler/frontier.py b/brozzler/frontier.py
index 54b8e07..00ad46e 100644
--- a/brozzler/frontier.py
+++ b/brozzler/frontier.py
@@ -101,14 +101,14 @@ class RethinkDbFrontier:
                         index="sites_last_disclaimed")
                     .order_by(index="sites_last_disclaimed")
                     .filter((r.row["claimed"] != True) | (
-                        r.row["last_claimed"] < r.now() - 2*60*60))
+                        r.row["last_claimed"] < r.now() - 60*60))
                     .limit(1)
                     .update(
                         # try to avoid a race condition resulting in multiple
                         # brozzler-workers claiming the same site
                         # see https://github.com/rethinkdb/rethinkdb/issues/3235#issuecomment-60283038
                         r.branch((r.row["claimed"] != True) | (
-                            r.row["last_claimed"] < r.now() - 2*60*60), {
+                            r.row["last_claimed"] < r.now() - 60*60), {
                                 "claimed": True, "last_claimed_by": worker_id,
                                 "last_claimed": doublethink.utcnow()}, {}),
                             return_changes=True)).run()
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index a11585d..bc52352 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ def find_package_data(package):
 
 setuptools.setup(
         name='brozzler',
-        version='1.1b11.dev240',
+        version='1.1b11.dev241',
         description='Distributed web crawling with browsers',
         url='https://github.com/internetarchive/brozzler',
         author='Noah Levitt',
diff --git a/tests/test_frontier.py b/tests/test_frontier.py
index a8c476b..f4fcec3 100644
--- a/tests/test_frontier.py
+++ b/tests/test_frontier.py
@@ -698,3 +698,39 @@ def test_honor_stop_request():
     with pytest.raises(brozzler.CrawlStopped):
         frontier.honor_stop_request(site)
 
+def test_claim_site():
+    rr = doublethink.Rethinker('localhost', db='ignoreme')
+    frontier = brozzler.RethinkDbFrontier(rr)
+
+    rr.table('sites').delete().run() # clean slate
+
+    with pytest.raises(brozzler.NothingToClaim):
+        claimed_site = frontier.claim_site(worker_id='test_claim_site')
+
+    site = brozzler.Site(rr, {'seed': 'http://example.org/'})
+    brozzler.new_site(frontier, site)
+
+    claimed_site = frontier.claim_site(worker_id='test_claim_site')
+    assert claimed_site.id == site.id
+    assert claimed_site.claimed
+    assert claimed_site.last_claimed >= doublethink.utcnow() - datetime.timedelta(minutes=1)
+    with pytest.raises(brozzler.NothingToClaim):
+        claimed_site = frontier.claim_site(worker_id='test_claim_site')
+
+    # site last_claimed less than 1 hour ago still not to be reclaimed
+    claimed_site.last_claimed = doublethink.utcnow() - datetime.timedelta(minutes=55)
+    claimed_site.save()
+    with pytest.raises(brozzler.NothingToClaim):
+        claimed_site = frontier.claim_site(worker_id='test_claim_site')
+
+    # site last_claimed more than 1 hour ago can be reclaimed
+    site = claimed_site
+    claimed_site = None
+    site.last_claimed = doublethink.utcnow() - datetime.timedelta(minutes=65)
+    site.save()
+    claimed_site = frontier.claim_site(worker_id='test_claim_site')
+    assert claimed_site.id == site.id
+
+    # clean up
+    rr.table('sites').get(claimed_site.id).delete().run()
+