diff --git a/sunspot_solr/lib/sunspot/solr/java.rb b/sunspot_solr/lib/sunspot/solr/java.rb
index b098041e2..71ecaaf5e 100644
--- a/sunspot_solr/lib/sunspot/solr/java.rb
+++ b/sunspot_solr/lib/sunspot/solr/java.rb
@@ -1,12 +1,25 @@
-require 'rbconfig'
+require "rbconfig"
 
 module Sunspot
   module Solr
     module Java
-      NULL_DEVICE = RbConfig::CONFIG['host_os'] =~ /mswin|mingw/ ? 'NUL' : '/dev/null'
+      class << self
+        def ensure_install!
+          if installed?
+            true
+          else
+            raise Sunspot::Solr::Server::JavaMissing, "You need a Java Runtime Environment to run the Solr server"
+          end
+        end
 
-      def self.installed?
-        !system("java -version >#{NULL_DEVICE} 2>&1").nil?
+        def installed?
+          system("java", "-version", [:out, :err] => null_device)
+          $?.exitstatus.zero?
+        end
+
+        def null_device
+          RbConfig::CONFIG["host_os"] =~ /mswin|mingw/ ? "NUL" : "/dev/null"
+        end
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/sunspot_solr/lib/sunspot/solr/server.rb b/sunspot_solr/lib/sunspot/solr/server.rb
index 9f711429a..dbb3ea8b0 100644
--- a/sunspot_solr/lib/sunspot/solr/server.rb
+++ b/sunspot_solr/lib/sunspot/solr/server.rb
@@ -23,9 +23,8 @@ class Server #:nodoc:
 
       attr_writer :pid_dir, :pid_file, :solr_home, :solr_executable
 
-      def initialize(*args)
-        ensure_java_installed
-        super(*args)
+      def initialize
+        Sunspot::Solr::Java.ensure_install!
       end
 
       #
@@ -195,16 +194,6 @@ def create_solr_directories
 
       private
 
-      def ensure_java_installed
-        unless defined?(@java_installed)
-          @java_installed = Sunspot::Solr::Java.installed?
-          unless @java_installed
-            raise JavaMissing.new("You need a Java Runtime Environment to run the Solr server")
-          end
-        end
-        @java_installed
-      end
-
       def logging_config_path
         return @logging_config_path if defined?(@logging_config_path)
         @logging_config_path =
diff --git a/sunspot_solr/spec/java_spec.rb b/sunspot_solr/spec/java_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7fbdf0f3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sunspot_solr/spec/java_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+require "spec_helper"
+
+describe Sunspot::Solr::Java do
+
+  describe ".ensure_install!" do
+    subject { described_class.ensure_install! }
+
+    context "when Java is installed" do
+      before { expect(described_class).to receive(:installed?) { true } }
+      it { should be true }
+    end
+
+    context "when Java is not installed" do
+      before { expect(described_class).to receive(:installed?) { false } }
+      it "should raise a JavaMissing error" do
+        expect { subject }.
+          to raise_error Sunspot::Solr::Server::JavaMissing, /You need a Java/
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe ".installed?" do
+    subject { described_class.installed? }
+
+    context "when Java can be found" do
+      let(:command) { system("echo") }
+      before do
+        expect(described_class).to receive(:system).
+          with("java", "-version", [:out, :err] => "/dev/null") { system("echo", out: "/dev/null") }
+      end
+      it { should be true }
+    end
+
+    context "when Java cannot be found" do
+      before do
+        expect(described_class).to receive(:system).
+          with("java", "-version", [:out, :err] => "/dev/null") { system("some-command-not-found") }
+      end
+      it { should be false }
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe ".null_device" do
+    subject { described_class.null_device }
+
+    before { stub_const("RbConfig::CONFIG", { "host_os" => host_os }) }
+
+    context "when the OS is Windows" do
+      let(:host_os) { "mswin32" }
+      it { should eq "NUL" }
+    end
+
+    context "when the OS is not Windows" do
+      let(:host_os) { "darwin15.2.0" }
+      it { should eq "/dev/null" }
+    end
+  end
+end