diff --git a/nsqd/channel.go b/nsqd/channel.go
index 0db68ee84..11a8af492 100644
--- a/nsqd/channel.go
+++ b/nsqd/channel.go
@@ -85,30 +85,30 @@ func NewChannel(topicName string, channelName string, options *nsqdOptions,
 	notifier Notifier, deleteCallback func(*Channel)) *Channel {
 	// backend names, for uniqueness, automatically include the topic... <topic>:<channel>
 	backendName := topicName + ":" + channelName
-	pqSize := int(math.Max(1, float64(options.memQueueSize)/10))
 	c := &Channel{
-		topicName:        topicName,
-		name:             channelName,
-		incomingMsgChan:  make(chan *nsq.Message, 1),
-		memoryMsgChan:    make(chan *nsq.Message, options.memQueueSize),
-		clientMsgChan:    make(chan *nsq.Message),
-		exitChan:         make(chan int),
-		clients:          make([]Consumer, 0, 5),
-		inFlightMessages: make(map[nsq.MessageID]*pqueue.Item),
-		inFlightPQ:       pqueue.New(pqSize),
-		deferredMessages: make(map[nsq.MessageID]*pqueue.Item),
-		deferredPQ:       pqueue.New(pqSize),
-		deleteCallback:   deleteCallback,
-		notifier:         notifier,
-		options:          options,
+		topicName:       topicName,
+		name:            channelName,
+		incomingMsgChan: make(chan *nsq.Message, 1),
+		memoryMsgChan:   make(chan *nsq.Message, options.memQueueSize),
+		clientMsgChan:   make(chan *nsq.Message),
+		exitChan:        make(chan int),
+		clients:         make([]Consumer, 0, 5),
+		deleteCallback:  deleteCallback,
+		notifier:        notifier,
+		options:         options,
 	}
+
+	c.initPQ()
+
 	if strings.HasSuffix(channelName, "#ephemeral") {
 		c.ephemeralChannel = true
 		c.backend = NewDummyBackendQueue()
 	} else {
 		c.backend = NewDiskQueue(backendName, options.dataPath, options.maxBytesPerFile, options.syncEvery)
 	}
+
 	go c.messagePump()
+
 	c.waitGroup.Wrap(func() { c.router() })
 	c.waitGroup.Wrap(func() { c.deferredWorker() })
 	c.waitGroup.Wrap(func() { c.inFlightWorker() })
@@ -118,6 +118,21 @@ func NewChannel(topicName string, channelName string, options *nsqdOptions,
 	return c
 }
 
+func (c *Channel) initPQ() {
+	pqSize := int(math.Max(1, float64(c.options.memQueueSize)/10))
+
+	c.inFlightMessages = make(map[nsq.MessageID]*pqueue.Item)
+	c.deferredMessages = make(map[nsq.MessageID]*pqueue.Item)
+
+	c.inFlightMutex.Lock()
+	c.inFlightPQ = pqueue.New(pqSize)
+	c.inFlightMutex.Unlock()
+
+	c.deferredMutex.Lock()
+	c.deferredPQ = pqueue.New(pqSize)
+	c.deferredMutex.Unlock()
+}
+
 // Exiting returns a boolean indicating if this channel is closed/exiting
 func (c *Channel) Exiting() bool {
 	return atomic.LoadInt32(&c.exitFlag) == 1
@@ -166,44 +181,80 @@ func (c *Channel) exit(deleted bool) error {
 
 	if deleted {
 		// empty the queue (deletes the backend files, too)
-		EmptyQueue(c)
+		c.Empty()
 	} else {
 		// messagePump is responsible for closing the channel it writes to
 		// this will read until its closed (exited)
 		for msg := range c.clientMsgChan {
 			log.Printf("CHANNEL(%s): recovered buffered message from clientMsgChan", c.name)
-			WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, c)
+			WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, c.backend)
 		}
 
 		// write anything leftover to disk
-		if len(c.memoryMsgChan) > 0 || len(c.inFlightMessages) > 0 || len(c.deferredMessages) > 0 {
-			log.Printf("CHANNEL(%s): flushing %d memory %d in-flight %d deferred messages to backend",
-				c.name, len(c.memoryMsgChan), len(c.inFlightMessages), len(c.deferredMessages))
-		}
-		FlushQueue(c)
+		c.flush()
 	}
 
 	return c.backend.Close()
 }
 
-// MemoryChan implements the Queue interface
-func (c *Channel) MemoryChan() chan *nsq.Message {
-	return c.memoryMsgChan
-}
+func (c *Channel) Empty() error {
+	c.Lock()
+	defer c.Unlock()
 
-// BackendQueue implements the Queue interface
-func (c *Channel) BackendQueue() BackendQueue {
-	return c.backend
-}
+	c.initPQ()
 
-// InFlight implements the Queue interface
-func (c *Channel) InFlight() map[nsq.MessageID]*pqueue.Item {
-	return c.inFlightMessages
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-c.memoryMsgChan:
+		default:
+			goto finish
+		}
+	}
+
+finish:
+	return c.backend.Empty()
 }
 
-// Deferred implements the Queue interface
-func (c *Channel) Deferred() map[nsq.MessageID]*pqueue.Item {
-	return c.deferredMessages
+// flush persists all the messages in internal memory buffers to the backend
+// it does not drain inflight/deferred because it is only called in Close()
+func (c *Channel) flush() error {
+	var msgBuf bytes.Buffer
+
+	if len(c.memoryMsgChan) > 0 || len(c.inFlightMessages) > 0 || len(c.deferredMessages) > 0 {
+		log.Printf("CHANNEL(%s): flushing %d memory %d in-flight %d deferred messages to backend",
+			c.name, len(c.memoryMsgChan), len(c.inFlightMessages), len(c.deferredMessages))
+	}
+
+	for {
+		select {
+		case msg := <-c.memoryMsgChan:
+			err := WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, c.backend)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Printf("ERROR: failed to write message to backend - %s", err.Error())
+			}
+		default:
+			goto finish
+		}
+	}
+
+finish:
+	for _, item := range c.inFlightMessages {
+		msg := item.Value.(*inFlightMessage).msg
+		err := WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, c.backend)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("ERROR: failed to write message to backend - %s", err.Error())
+		}
+	}
+
+	for _, item := range c.deferredMessages {
+		msg := item.Value.(*nsq.Message)
+		err := WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, c.backend)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("ERROR: failed to write message to backend - %s", err.Error())
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
 }
 
 func (c *Channel) Depth() int64 {
@@ -476,7 +527,7 @@ func (c *Channel) router() {
 		select {
 		case c.memoryMsgChan <- msg:
 		default:
-			err := WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, c)
+			err := WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, c.backend)
 			if err != nil {
 				log.Printf("CHANNEL(%s) ERROR: failed to write message to backend - %s", c.name, err.Error())
 				// theres not really much we can do at this point, you're certainly
diff --git a/nsqd/channel_test.go b/nsqd/channel_test.go
index cb8970b12..c8f2b1cba 100644
--- a/nsqd/channel_test.go
+++ b/nsqd/channel_test.go
@@ -67,7 +67,8 @@ func TestInFlightWorker(t *testing.T) {
 	nsqd := NewNSQd(1, options)
 	defer nsqd.Exit()
 
-	topic := nsqd.GetTopic("topic")
+	topicName := "test_in_flight_worker" + strconv.Itoa(int(time.Now().Unix()))
+	topic := nsqd.GetTopic(topicName)
 	channel := topic.GetChannel("channel")
 
 	for i := 0; i < 1000; i++ {
@@ -83,3 +84,37 @@ func TestInFlightWorker(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, len(channel.inFlightMessages), 0)
 	assert.Equal(t, len(channel.inFlightPQ), 0)
 }
+
+func TestChannelEmpty(t *testing.T) {
+	log.SetOutput(ioutil.Discard)
+	defer log.SetOutput(os.Stdout)
+
+	nsqd := NewNSQd(1, NewNsqdOptions())
+	defer nsqd.Exit()
+
+	topicName := "test_channel_empty" + strconv.Itoa(int(time.Now().Unix()))
+	topic := nsqd.GetTopic(topicName)
+	channel := topic.GetChannel("channel")
+	client := NewClientV2(nil)
+
+	msgs := make([]*nsq.Message, 0, 25)
+	for i := 0; i < 25; i++ {
+		msg := nsq.NewMessage(<-nsqd.idChan, []byte("test"))
+		channel.StartInFlightTimeout(msg, client)
+		msgs = append(msgs, msg)
+	}
+
+	channel.RequeueMessage(client, msgs[len(msgs)-1].Id, 100*time.Millisecond)
+	assert.Equal(t, len(channel.inFlightMessages), 24)
+	assert.Equal(t, len(channel.inFlightPQ), 24)
+	assert.Equal(t, len(channel.deferredMessages), 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, len(channel.deferredPQ), 1)
+
+	channel.Empty()
+
+	assert.Equal(t, len(channel.inFlightMessages), 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, len(channel.inFlightPQ), 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, len(channel.deferredMessages), 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, len(channel.deferredPQ), 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, channel.Depth(), int64(0))
+}
diff --git a/nsqd/http.go b/nsqd/http.go
index 96a81f98a..8f782cf5a 100644
--- a/nsqd/http.go
+++ b/nsqd/http.go
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ func emptyChannelHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	err = EmptyQueue(channel)
+	err = channel.Empty()
 	if err != nil {
 		util.ApiResponse(w, 500, "INTERNAL_ERROR", nil)
 		return
diff --git a/nsqd/queue.go b/nsqd/queue.go
index df773e174..c14ccf151 100644
--- a/nsqd/queue.go
+++ b/nsqd/queue.go
@@ -2,9 +2,7 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"../nsq"
-	"../util/pqueue"
 	"bytes"
-	"log"
 )
 
 // BackendQueue represents the behavior for the secondary message
@@ -17,13 +15,6 @@ type BackendQueue interface {
 	Empty() error
 }
 
-type Queue interface {
-	MemoryChan() chan *nsq.Message
-	BackendQueue() BackendQueue
-	InFlight() map[nsq.MessageID]*pqueue.Item
-	Deferred() map[nsq.MessageID]*pqueue.Item
-}
-
 type DummyBackendQueue struct {
 	readChan chan []byte
 }
@@ -52,61 +43,13 @@ func (d *DummyBackendQueue) Empty() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func EmptyQueue(q Queue) error {
-	for {
-		select {
-		case <-q.MemoryChan():
-		default:
-			goto disk
-		}
-	}
-
-disk:
-	return q.BackendQueue().Empty()
-}
-
-func FlushQueue(q Queue) error {
-	var msgBuf bytes.Buffer
-
-	for {
-		select {
-		case msg := <-q.MemoryChan():
-			err := WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, q)
-			if err != nil {
-				log.Printf("ERROR: failed to write message to backend - %s", err.Error())
-			}
-		default:
-			goto finish
-		}
-	}
-
-finish:
-	for _, item := range q.InFlight() {
-		msg := item.Value.(*inFlightMessage).msg
-		err := WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, q)
-		if err != nil {
-			log.Printf("ERROR: failed to write message to backend - %s", err.Error())
-		}
-	}
-
-	for _, item := range q.Deferred() {
-		msg := item.Value.(*nsq.Message)
-		err := WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, q)
-		if err != nil {
-			log.Printf("ERROR: failed to write message to backend - %s", err.Error())
-		}
-	}
-
-	return nil
-}
-
-func WriteMessageToBackend(buf *bytes.Buffer, msg *nsq.Message, q Queue) error {
+func WriteMessageToBackend(buf *bytes.Buffer, msg *nsq.Message, bq BackendQueue) error {
 	buf.Reset()
 	err := msg.Write(buf)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	err = q.BackendQueue().Put(buf.Bytes())
+	err = bq.Put(buf.Bytes())
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/nsqd/topic.go b/nsqd/topic.go
index 4344040f4..e0718f260 100644
--- a/nsqd/topic.go
+++ b/nsqd/topic.go
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package main
 import (
 	"../nsq"
 	"../util"
-	"../util/pqueue"
 	"bytes"
 	"errors"
 	"log"
@@ -48,22 +47,6 @@ func NewTopic(topicName string, options *nsqdOptions, notifier Notifier) *Topic
 	return topic
 }
 
-func (t *Topic) MemoryChan() chan *nsq.Message {
-	return t.memoryMsgChan
-}
-
-func (t *Topic) BackendQueue() BackendQueue {
-	return t.backend
-}
-
-func (t *Topic) InFlight() map[nsq.MessageID]*pqueue.Item {
-	return nil
-}
-
-func (t *Topic) Deferred() map[nsq.MessageID]*pqueue.Item {
-	return nil
-}
-
 // Exiting returns a boolean indicating if this topic is closed/exiting
 func (t *Topic) Exiting() bool {
 	return atomic.LoadInt32(&t.exitFlag) == 1
@@ -222,7 +205,7 @@ func (t *Topic) router() {
 		select {
 		case t.memoryMsgChan <- msg:
 		default:
-			err := WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, t)
+			err := WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, t.backend)
 			if err != nil {
 				log.Printf("ERROR: failed to write message to backend - %s", err.Error())
 				// theres not really much we can do at this point, you're certainly
@@ -267,7 +250,7 @@ func (t *Topic) exit(deleted bool) error {
 
 	if deleted {
 		// empty the queue (deletes the backend files, too)
-		EmptyQueue(t)
+		t.Empty()
 
 		t.Lock()
 		for _, channel := range t.channelMap {
@@ -286,11 +269,44 @@ func (t *Topic) exit(deleted bool) error {
 		}
 
 		// write anything leftover to disk
-		if len(t.memoryMsgChan) > 0 {
-			log.Printf("TOPIC(%s): flushing %d memory messages to backend", t.name, len(t.memoryMsgChan))
-		}
-		FlushQueue(t)
+		t.flush()
 	}
 
 	return t.backend.Close()
 }
+
+func (t *Topic) Empty() error {
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-t.memoryMsgChan:
+		default:
+			goto finish
+		}
+	}
+
+finish:
+	return t.backend.Empty()
+}
+
+func (t *Topic) flush() error {
+	var msgBuf bytes.Buffer
+
+	if len(t.memoryMsgChan) > 0 {
+		log.Printf("TOPIC(%s): flushing %d memory messages to backend", t.name, len(t.memoryMsgChan))
+	}
+
+	for {
+		select {
+		case msg := <-t.memoryMsgChan:
+			err := WriteMessageToBackend(&msgBuf, msg, t.backend)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Printf("ERROR: failed to write message to backend - %s", err.Error())
+			}
+		default:
+			goto finish
+		}
+	}
+
+finish:
+	return nil
+}