I have googled many combinations and I have been unable to find the answer to this question.

I first thought about this after noticing that a 1A 50V 1N4001 Rectifier Diode costs exactly the same as a 1A 1000V 1N4007 Rectifier Diode and that there are many increments of voltages in between. In some cases voltages like 200 and 600 were more expensive for the same 1N400x series of diodes. I am not sure why this is.

To my knowledge when using this kind of diode the voltage it is designed for must be higher that the voltage passing through it and the higher the voltage the diode can survive the better. Are there any advantages of using a 50v diodes over 1000v diodes, which are both the same price, in for example a 12v bridge rectifier or any other applications?

Thank you

 

Sometimes the internal voltage drop is higher in the higher related PIV diodes but the difference between a 50V and a 1 KV probably wouldn't be much. Reverse capacitance may be slightly different too.

Try pulling up the data sheets for both and comparing them side by side.

 

I just buy bags of 1000 quantity 1N4007 (the 1000v version) for about $7 and at 0.7 cents each use them for averything. And bags of 1000q 1N4148 for about $5.

The cost of keeping different types, and having to find enough of the right type etc add up. Check around the surplus suppliers you can get "end of production run" stock that is brand new and buy for very low cost.

 

That 50,100,200....1000 volt rating is the peak inverse voltage, not the forward voltage. The PIV (or PRV) is the maximum peak voltage you can apply to the diode in the reverse, or blocking direction. Most useful for power supply designing.
The forward voltage of all the 1N400X units are about 0.7 to 1.0 volts.