diff --git a/heka/files/lua/common/accumulator.lua b/heka/files/lua/common/accumulator.lua
index 9b01a8f..ac86a0e 100644
--- a/heka/files/lua/common/accumulator.lua
+++ b/heka/files/lua/common/accumulator.lua
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
 -- ns: the current timestamp in nanosecond (optional)
 function Accumulator:flush(ns)
     local now = ns or time() * 1e9
-    if #self.buffer > self.flush_count or now - self.last_flush > self.flush_interval then
+    if #self.buffer > self.flush_count or now - self.last_flush > self.flush_interval * 1e9 then
         self.flush_cb(self.buffer)
         self.buffer = {}
         self.last_flush = now
diff --git a/heka/files/lua/common/resources.lua b/heka/files/lua/common/resources.lua
index dc18329..fcb8c94 100644
--- a/heka/files/lua/common/resources.lua
+++ b/heka/files/lua/common/resources.lua
@@ -124,7 +124,11 @@
         for _, sample in ipairs(message_body["payload"]) do
             add_resource_to_payload(sample, resource_payload)
         end
-        resource_msg.Payload = cjson.encode(resource_payload)
+        local ok, payload = pcall(cjson.encode, resource_payload)
+        if not ok then
+            return -1, "Cannot encode resource_payload"
+        end
+        resource_msg.Payload = payload
         resource_msg.Timestamp = patt.Timestamp:match(message_body.timestamp)
         return 0, resource_msg
     end
diff --git a/heka/files/lua/common/samples.lua b/heka/files/lua/common/samples.lua
index ad93873..af9c6c9 100644
--- a/heka/files/lua/common/samples.lua
+++ b/heka/files/lua/common/samples.lua
@@ -184,7 +184,11 @@
         for _, sample in ipairs(message_body["payload"]) do
             self:add_sample_to_payload(sample, sample_payload)
         end
-        sample_msg.Payload = cjson.encode(sample_payload)
+        local ok, payload = pcall(cjson.encode, sample_payload)
+        if not ok then
+            return -1, "Cannot encode sample_payload"
+        end
+        sample_msg.Payload = payload
         sample_msg.Timestamp = patt.Timestamp:match(message_body.timestamp)
         return 0, sample_msg
     end
diff --git a/heka/files/toml/filter/sandbox.toml b/heka/files/toml/filter/sandbox.toml
index 9608e52..17de658 100644
--- a/heka/files/toml/filter/sandbox.toml
+++ b/heka/files/toml/filter/sandbox.toml
@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@
 {%- if filter.hostname is defined %}
 hostname = "{{ filter.hostname }}"
 {%- endif %}
+{%- if filter.output_limit is defined %}
+output_limit = {{ filter.output_limit|int }}
+{%- endif %}
 
 {%- if filter.config is defined %}
 [{{ filter_name }}_filter.config]
diff --git a/heka/meta/heka.yml b/heka/meta/heka.yml
index 157d8f8..9f04a8b 100644
--- a/heka/meta/heka.yml
+++ b/heka/meta/heka.yml
@@ -708,10 +708,12 @@
       preserve_data: false
       message_matcher: "Type =~ /ceilometer_samples$/"
       ticker_interval: 1
+      # The default output_limit value (64k) is too low to deal with Ceilometer samples
+      output_limit: 524288
       config:
         time_precision: "{{ ceilometer_collector.influxdb_time_precision }}"
         payload_name: 'sample_data'
-        flush_count: 500
+        flush_count: 200
         bulk_metric_type_matcher: 'ceilometer_samples'
   {%- endif %}
   {%- if ceilometer_collector.sensu_host is defined %}
diff --git a/heka/meta/salt.yml b/heka/meta/salt.yml
index f7c7af4..cfa8f38 100644
--- a/heka/meta/salt.yml
+++ b/heka/meta/salt.yml
@@ -59,9 +59,11 @@
         {%- set service_grains = salt['grains.filter_by']({'default': service_grains}, merge=heka_yaml) %}
       {%- endif %}
     {%- endfor %}
+  {%- if 'heka_alarming' in salt.keys() %}
   heka:
     heka:
       {{ salt['heka_alarming.grains_for_mine'](service_grains)|yaml(False)|indent(6) }}
+  {%- endif %}
 
 {#-
   vim: syntax=jinja
diff --git a/tests/lua/test_accumulator.lua b/tests/lua/test_accumulator.lua
index 837ffd5..2e2bef6 100644
--- a/tests/lua/test_accumulator.lua
+++ b/tests/lua/test_accumulator.lua
@@ -57,8 +57,10 @@
             assertEquals(#items, 0)
             sentinel = true
         end
-        local accum = accumulator.new(20, 1, test_cb)
+        local accum = accumulator.new(20, 4, test_cb)
         accum:flush((now + 2) * 1e9)
+        assertEquals(sentinel, false)
+        accum:flush((now + 5) * 1e9)
         assertEquals(sentinel, true)
     end