diff --git a/storage/mysql/68-mysql.html b/storage/mysql/68-mysql.html
index 1bfaf30b..ac437e31 100644
--- a/storage/mysql/68-mysql.html
+++ b/storage/mysql/68-mysql.html
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
     </div>
     <div class="form-row">
         <label for="node-config-input-tz"><i class="fa fa-clock-o"></i> <span data-i18n="mysql.label.timezone"></span></label>
-        <input type="text" id="node-config-input-tz">
+        <input type="text" id="node-config-input-tz" placeholder="&#177;hh:mm">
     </div>
     <div class="form-row">
         <label for="node-config-input-charset"><i class="fa fa-language"></i> <span data-i18n="mysql.label.charset"></span></label>
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
         <label for="node-config-input-name"><i class="fa fa-tag"></i> <span data-i18n="node-red:common.label.name"></span></label>
         <input type="text" id="node-config-input-name" data-i18n="[placeholder]node-red:common.label.name">
     </div>
+    <div class="form-tips"><span data-i18n="[html]mysql.tip"></span></div>
 </script>
 
 <script type="text/javascript">
diff --git a/storage/mysql/68-mysql.js b/storage/mysql/68-mysql.js
index 039b01c0..984be193 100644
--- a/storage/mysql/68-mysql.js
+++ b/storage/mysql/68-mysql.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 module.exports = function(RED) {
     "use strict";
     var reconnect = RED.settings.mysqlReconnectTime || 20000;
-    var mysqldb = require('mysql');
+    var mysqldb = require('mysql2');
 
     function MySQLNode(n) {
         RED.nodes.createNode(this,n);
@@ -41,10 +41,10 @@ module.exports = function(RED) {
                     timezone : node.tz,
                     insecureAuth: true,
                     multipleStatements: true,
-                    connectionLimit: 50,
-                    timeout: 30000,
+                    connectionLimit: RED.settings.mysqlConnectionLimit || 50,
                     connectTimeout: 30000,
-                    charset: node.charset
+                    charset: node.charset,
+                    decimalNumbers: true
                 });
             }
 
@@ -112,65 +112,41 @@ module.exports = function(RED) {
                 if (node.mydbConfig.connected) {
                     if (typeof msg.topic === 'string') {
                         //console.log("query:",msg.topic);
-                        var bind = [];
-                        if (Array.isArray(msg.payload)) {
-                            bind = msg.payload;
-                            node.mydbConfig.pool.on('acquire', function(connection) {
-                                    connection.config.queryFormat = null;
-                            });
-                        }
-                        else if (typeof msg.payload === 'object' && msg.payload !== null) {
-                            bind = msg.payload;
-                            node.mydbConfig.pool.on('acquire', function(connection) {
-                                connection.config.queryFormat = function(query, values) {
-                                    if (!values) {
-                                        return query;
-                                    }
-                                    return query.replace(/\:(\w+)/g, function(txt, key) {
-                                        if (values.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
-                                            return this.escape(values[key]);
-                                        }
-                                        return txt;
-                                    }.bind(this));
-                                };
-                            });
-                        }
-                        node.mydbConfig.pool.query(msg.topic, bind, function(err, rows) {
+                        node.mydbConfig.pool.getConnection(function (err, conn) {
                             if (err) {
-                                status = {fill:"red",shape:"ring",text:RED._("mysql.status.error")+": "+err.code};
+                                conn.release()
+                                status = { fill: "red", shape: "ring", text: RED._("mysql.status.error") + ": " + err.code };
                                 node.status(status);
-                                node.error(err,msg);
+                                node.error(err, msg);
+                                if (done) { done(); }
+                                return
                             }
-                            else {
-                                // if (rows.constructor.name === "OkPacket") {
-                                //     msg.payload = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(rows));
-                                // }
-                                // else if (rows.constructor.name === "Array") {
-                                //     if (rows[0] && rows[0].constructor.name === "RowDataPacket") {
-                                //         msg.payload = rows.map(v => Object.assign({}, v));
-                                //     }
-                                //     else if (rows[0] && rows[0].constructor.name === "Array") {
-                                //         if (rows[0][0] && rows[0][0].constructor.name === "RowDataPacket") {
-                                //             msg.payload = rows.map(function(v) {
-                                //                 if (!Array.isArray(v)) { return v; }
-                                //                 v.map(w => Object.assign({}, w))
-                                //             });
-                                //         }
-                                //         else { msg.payload = rows; }
-                                //     }
-                                //     else  { msg.payload = rows; }
-                                // }
-                                // else { msg.payload = rows; }
-                                msg.payload = rows;
-                                send(msg);
-                                status = {fill:"green",shape:"dot",text:RED._("mysql.status.ok")};
-                                node.status(status);
+
+                            var bind = [];
+                            if (Array.isArray(msg.payload)) {
+                                bind = msg.payload;
                             }
-                            if (done) { done(); }
-                            // if (node.mydbConfig.pool._freeConnections.indexOf(node.mydbConfig.connection) === -1) {
-                            //     node.mydbConfig.connection.release();
-                            // }
-                        });
+                            else if (typeof msg.payload === 'object' && msg.payload !== null) {
+                                bind = msg.payload;
+                            }
+                            conn.config.queryFormat = Array.isArray(msg.payload) ? null : customQueryFormat
+                            conn.query(msg.topic, bind, function (err, rows) {
+                                conn.release()
+                                if (err) {
+                                    status = { fill: "red", shape: "ring", text: RED._("mysql.status.error") + ": " + err.code };
+                                    node.status(status);
+                                    node.error(err, msg);
+                                }
+                                else {
+                                    msg.payload = rows;
+                                    send(msg);
+                                    status = { fill: "green", shape: "dot", text: RED._("mysql.status.ok") };
+                                    node.status(status);
+                                }
+                                if (done) { done(); }
+                            });
+                        })
+
                     }
                     else {
                         if (typeof msg.topic !== 'string') { node.error("msg.topic : "+RED._("mysql.errors.notstring")); done(); }
@@ -200,3 +176,15 @@ module.exports = function(RED) {
     }
     RED.nodes.registerType("mysql",MysqlDBNodeIn);
 }
+
+function customQueryFormat(query, values) {
+    if (!values) {
+        return query;
+    }
+    return query.replace(/\:(\w+)/g, function(txt, key) {
+        if (values.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
+            return this.escape(values[key]);
+        }
+        return txt;
+    }.bind(this));
+}
diff --git a/storage/mysql/locales/en-US/68-mysql.json b/storage/mysql/locales/en-US/68-mysql.json
index 9edd17ba..df3ac023 100644
--- a/storage/mysql/locales/en-US/68-mysql.json
+++ b/storage/mysql/locales/en-US/68-mysql.json
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
             "notstring": "the query is not defined as a string",
             "notconnected": "Database not connected",
             "notconfigured": "MySQL database not configured"
-        }
+        },
+        "tip": "Tip: The timezone should be specified as &#177;hh:mm or leave blank for 'local'."
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/storage/mysql/package.json b/storage/mysql/package.json
index dd06c3ec..55c2be51 100644
--- a/storage/mysql/package.json
+++ b/storage/mysql/package.json
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 {
     "name": "node-red-node-mysql",
-    "version": "0.3.0",
+    "version": "1.0.0-beta-5",
     "description": "A Node-RED node to read and write to a MySQL database",
     "dependencies": {
-        "mysql": "^2.18.1"
+        "mysql2": "^2.3.3"
     },
     "repository": {
         "type": "git",