Store temporary array in database

Hello folks,

If I want to store a temporary array in the database, I have read that one the cache tables is the right place to put it, is this correct?

To avoid cramming the table with data, is there a way to give the new record a lifetime?

Furthermore, creating the new record is easy using drupal_write_record('cache_table', $data); but how do I store the ID of the new record and make it available to other pages?

Hope someone can spare the time to help with this.

Cheers.