This whole thread is about chasing the "little yellow hole in the snow." It's trivial.
When the bell is not ringing, the current that is measured is largely reactive or imaginary current. It is the current determined by the transformer's magnetizing inductance. The only dissipation is some small core heating and trivial wire losses. The true dissipation is far less than what most are calculating by multiplying measured volts and measured current.
Worry about something important...like preserving the US Constitution.
Boden