diff --git a/bindings/python/src/session_settings.cpp b/bindings/python/src/session_settings.cpp
index 5eea82cce..6c66f6e6e 100644
--- a/bindings/python/src/session_settings.cpp
+++ b/bindings/python/src/session_settings.cpp
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ void bind_session_settings()
 #endif
         .def_readwrite("free_torrent_hashes", &session_settings::free_torrent_hashes)
         .def_readwrite("upnp_ignore_nonrouters", &session_settings::upnp_ignore_nonrouters)
+        .def_readwrite("send_buffer_low_watermark", &session_settings::send_buffer_low_watermark)
         .def_readwrite("send_buffer_watermark", &session_settings::send_buffer_watermark)
 #ifndef TORRENT_NO_DEPRECATE
         .def_readwrite("auto_upload_slots", &session_settings::auto_upload_slots)
diff --git a/include/libtorrent/session_settings.hpp b/include/libtorrent/session_settings.hpp
index 4378c9479..b584e95a4 100644
--- a/include/libtorrent/session_settings.hpp
+++ b/include/libtorrent/session_settings.hpp
@@ -136,6 +136,7 @@ namespace libtorrent
 #endif
 			, free_torrent_hashes(true)
 			, upnp_ignore_nonrouters(false)
+ 			, send_buffer_low_watermark(512)
  			, send_buffer_watermark(500 * 1024)
 			, send_buffer_watermark_factor(50)
 #ifndef TORRENT_NO_DEPRECATE
@@ -476,6 +477,14 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		// our currently configured router.
 		bool upnp_ignore_nonrouters;
 
+		// This is the minimum send buffer target size (send buffer
+		// includes bytes pending being read from disk). For good
+		// and snappy seeding performance, set this fairly high, to
+		// at least fit a few blocks. This is essentially the initial
+		// window size which will determine how fast we can ramp up
+		// the send rate
+ 		int send_buffer_low_watermark;
+
  		// if the send buffer has fewer bytes than this, we'll
  		// read another 16kB block onto it. If set too small,
  		// upload rate capacity will suffer. If set too high,
diff --git a/src/peer_connection.cpp b/src/peer_connection.cpp
index 4dbe65b6c..41663c403 100644
--- a/src/peer_connection.cpp
+++ b/src/peer_connection.cpp
@@ -4525,7 +4525,10 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		int buffer_size_watermark = upload_rate
 			* m_ses.settings().send_buffer_watermark_factor / 100;
 
-		if (buffer_size_watermark < 512) buffer_size_watermark = 512;
+		if (buffer_size_watermark < m_ses.settings().send_buffer_low_watermark)
+		{
+			buffer_size_watermark = m_ses.settings().send_buffer_low_watermark;
+		}
 		else if (buffer_size_watermark > m_ses.settings().send_buffer_watermark)
 		{
 			buffer_size_watermark = m_ses.settings().send_buffer_watermark;
diff --git a/src/session.cpp b/src/session.cpp
index e662df931..29221b798 100644
--- a/src/session.cpp
+++ b/src/session.cpp
@@ -274,13 +274,17 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		// the bandwidth delay product. Assuming an RTT
 		// of 500 ms, and a send rate of 20 MB/s, the upper
 		// limit should be 10 MB
-		set.send_buffer_watermark = 2 * 1024 * 1024;
+		set.send_buffer_watermark = 3 * 1024 * 1024;
 
 		// put 1.5 seconds worth of data in the send buffer
 		// this gives the disk I/O more heads-up on disk
 		// reads, and can maximize throughput
 		set.send_buffer_watermark_factor = 150;
 
+		// always stuff at least 1 MiB down each peer
+		// pipe, to quickly ramp up send rates
+ 		set.send_buffer_low_watermark = 1 * 1024 * 1024;
+
 		// don't retry peers if they fail once. Let them
 		// connect to us if they want to
 		set.max_failcount = 1;
diff --git a/src/session_impl.cpp b/src/session_impl.cpp
index 2c5cb6f10..6aecadd0d 100644
--- a/src/session_impl.cpp
+++ b/src/session_impl.cpp
@@ -320,6 +320,7 @@ namespace aux {
 #endif
 		TORRENT_SETTING(boolean, free_torrent_hashes)
 		TORRENT_SETTING(boolean, upnp_ignore_nonrouters)
+ 		TORRENT_SETTING(integer, send_buffer_low_watermark)
  		TORRENT_SETTING(integer, send_buffer_watermark)
 #ifndef TORRENT_NO_DEPRECATE
 		TORRENT_SETTING(boolean, auto_upload_slots)