diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 21d3ba2e5d..0bf9e1468c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
   (PR[#3607](https://github.com/scality/metalk8s/pull/3607))
 
 - Add ability to change the drain timeout from the upgrade and
-  downgrade scripts
+  downgrade scripts and default to 3600 seconds
   (PR[#3633](https://github.com/scality/metalk8s/pull/3633))
 
 ## Release 2.10.5
diff --git a/salt/_modules/metalk8s_drain.py b/salt/_modules/metalk8s_drain.py
index 77cb61f840..0ecd3b60c2 100644
--- a/salt/_modules/metalk8s_drain.py
+++ b/salt/_modules/metalk8s_drain.py
@@ -166,7 +166,8 @@ def __init__(
         self._force = force
         self._grace_period = grace_period
         self._ignore_daemonset = ignore_daemonset
-        self._timeout = timeout or (2 ** 64 - 1)
+        # Default timeout is 3600 seconds
+        self._timeout = timeout or 3600
         self._delete_local_data = delete_local_data
         self._best_effort = best_effort
         self._kwargs = kwargs