Well if it makes you feel better.... I'm down to 22 at this point... 
Ran out of a buffer a long time ago. Never had one since. We just got to keep up with the weekly uploads or else there just isn’t an update.
the largest buffer i can maintain is 1 week ahead so im constantly in panic mode (i did try a 4-5 week buffer and couldnt keep up)
since I have an issue with my wrist I take a break from posting on Tapas and Webtoon. but my patreon fans, they come first because its obvious. however once I feel better I continue. thats really it. but while taking a break. I work ahead so I'm not in a rush when I begin posting.
I math it out ahead of time to adjust the releases for the buffer I do have. If I was uploading twice a week, it's now once. If it was once a week, it's now maybe 3 a month, or just a week break in between a "suitable" break. ie my novel NTN is releasing as ch53A, ch53B and ch53C: after part C is released, I might delay a release with a note in part C before it's released, that the next update will come a week later. For me this isn't a huge issue, since readers who want to hardcore binge can run over to my dA and go all the way up to my current section, but for Tapas I'm trying to keep it at a consistent release. but that "out of buffer" time is looming closer and closer each week and I'm just like: eventually, they'll have to deal with potentially weeks of no updates.... THE HORRORRRRR
I guess I work a bit more like @rainbowolfe and @beta1042 and just flat out cry and panic haahaha
I have a scheduled amount in the buffer and i make a page when i post a page so the buffer number stays the same.
I'm living the "dream" right now... my buffer expired sometime back in March-ish and I just haven't had one since 
Granted I kind of did it to myself...
I used up most of it in December when I took time off to do other stuff, but for some reason when I got back to it mid-january I decided "hey I've been drawing like 2-3 pages a week and uploading just 1... maybe I should start uploading 2-3 pages instead and my current buffer will maintain itself, right??"
Nope, absolutely not LOL so I just ate it all in a few weeks and was like "crap".
Uhhh at that point, if I were working on a longer project I probably would have tried to get to the end of the chapter or whatever and took some time off to rebuild. As-is this season is coming to an end shortly and was originally planned as a standalone one-shot anyways so... I decided to just tough it out and draw my 1 page a week every single week to upload xD
I think my biggest takeaway though is that I'm really not a fan of like... drawing the same content that you're uploading at the moment, if that makes sense? At it's biggest I think my buffer was only like a month and a half or so long. So even when I had one I was still kinda under pressure to keep moving briskly or risk running out... which happened. I think for my next season I'm going to instead draw like all of it up front- or at least most of it- before I start uploading. I want to be able to make it peacefully and not feel rushed all the time 
Mine ran out today! Though i've got the next 3 pages in various states of completion. I'm fine making a page a week, but I might take a small break to get back to being a month(or more) ahead. It just makes everything much less stressful.
Real trick is just don’t post your comic online until you’re confident you have enough pages to last you a while with bonus vacation time. Unless someone is paying you to make them, no one is waiting for it to be released. 10 years making them paid off for me to realize this XD
laughs nervously as my back screams at me to regain my lost buffer after I practically destroyed my computer for being really stupid
I write like a mad person every single morning before I do anything else XD And then my loved ones start to wonder if I’m still alive...
Buffer? What buffer? I was happy when I at one point was 6 pages ahead.
Salty humour aside, finding a pace that suit you is probably the only answer I have. I don't think it sounds terrible to take a break every third week or so, as long as it's consistent. I only post every other week anyways, which fits my drawing pace, and I don't seem to have trouble with retaining subs.
Man I only had a buffer to last me a couple months after I launched (so 12-ish pages on launch, and then maybe another 20 to pad out the months ahead?).
Truth be told I work best under pressure. I like having something to do on the weekends, and pages are just fun enough to do to keep me occupied while I catch up on shows and podcasts. I do cheat a little however, before launch or anything I already had like a good majority of my comic already penciled out, so all I have to do is just do lineart and color. Composition, pacing and planning had already been done!
I think just do whatever works best for you. I know I'd get complacent with a too long buffer, but I also know weekly, on the day of type updates might make anyone a little anxious to work on the next update. You do you!
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